


The Chat's Out of the... Shower?

by WinterAndLittleBrunettes



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-16 16:44:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7275931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterAndLittleBrunettes/pseuds/WinterAndLittleBrunettes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens if Chat Noir opens the door just a little sooner? What will Ladybug say to finding his identity? Will she stay?</p><p>This story takes place from the end of episode 24, Volpina, with a slight twist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprise?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Miraculous fic! So, even in it's completion, feel free to leave kudos or comments on the tale! I always smile seeing emails telling me I have kudos/comments, as I am sure many of you other writers out there do. Don't be shy, my lovelies!
> 
> There are a few warnings listed outside of the archive warnings, but they are always listed in bold in the beginning notes. So just look out for those if you wish to avoid them for any reason [nothing major I promise].

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat finally has enough after today's akuma attack, and debates revealing himself to Ladybug...  
> What does Ladybug think of her partner?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This first chapter is written in Adrien's perspective, and I plan to write the entire story in his POV. [That could change... Depending on how the story turns out.]
> 
> What does he think of how the events of the akuma attack played out? Does he decide to reveal his identity? Who knows! Maybe things will just continue the way that we know them to...

# Surprise? 

"This is, uhh, Ladybug!" she stammered, snapping the door closed. "Is everything... Okay?"

"Uhh, yeah, yeah!" Chat Noir replied, moving away from the shower spray. "I had to grab a shower after all this excitement!" he called, walking over to the door separating them and pressed his suit's ears to it.

"Oh! Yeah, uhh, sure! I'm sorry, I'll be off then, huh?"

"Thank you!"

Simultaneously, they both leaned forward to press their foreheads against the wood separating them, without even knowing it.

_She really seemed worried about me... Should I let her know I'm really alright? I was right beside her the whole time, and she didn't even see me... She saw exactly what Volpina wanted her to see..._

"Ladybug, wait!" he called out, before he could stop himself. "I'll be out in a minute, maybe we could... Talk?"

Silence met him on the other side of the door. _Oh no, did she already leave?_ Chat rushed back to the shower knob, twisting it off, and ran out the door...

Straight into Ladybug.

With a muffled "Oomfh!" coming from one or both of them, they fell to the floor, Chat twisting at the last second to break their fall. Ladybug landed on top of him, her nose bouncing uncomfortably off his collar bone. She grunted at the contact, and pushed herself up off of Adrien's--

**Chat's chest.**

"Chat?" she uttered out after a moment. "What are you doing here?" Ladybug peered back over her shoulder, trying to look into the bathroom. "Where's Adrien?"

He shifted beneath her, searching for the best answer to give. _She didn't clue in that I **am**_ _Adrien. Do I lie, saying I couldn't find him?_ "I.. Umm..."

Before he could come up with a smart answer, however, her earrings gave another warning, and his ring followed seconds later.

"Chat, I have to go, and so do you!" Ladybug quickly pushed off him, and stood up, offering her hand to help him.

Chat grasped it and stood up, and tried to catch her gaze, but her eyes frantically flicked all around the room. Most likely looking for Adrien. _Why can't you see me, Ladybug? I'm right beside you!_

He sighed, turning to fully face her, before lifting his free hand to her shoulder to get her attention. Her bluebell eyes snapped to his, blinking at his sudden seriousness.

"Ladybug..." he started. _Do I say it? Do I reveal my identity? Wouldn't it make things easier for us? Even if she doesn't tell me her identity... I want her to know._ Chat took a deep breath, he murmured "Claws in" before de-transforming in front of her.

She squeaks, before frantically closing her eyes, only catching a brief flash of green, nothing more. "Chat?!" she exclaimed "What are you doing? We shouldn't know our civilian selves!" she lifted her hands up to cover her eyes, to realize she is still holding one of Chat's-- Well, his civilian self's-- hands. She pries her hand away to completely cover her eyes.

"My Lady..." he whispered, and shuffled closer to her. "Would it truly be so bad to know our civilian selves? What if we know each other?"

"Doubt it.." Ladybug muttered stubbornly. "You stupid cat, of course it is! What if Hawkmoth comes after us, if we're away from our kwami's? What if he found out our true identities?"

"That's what I'm thinking of, my Lady. What if Hawkmoth gets me, or you, our civilian selves, and the other didn't know it? We keep waiting for our partner to show up, but they can't because they're with Hawkmoth? I think it's time, My Lady... You trust me, don't you?" Adrien reached his hands up to his Lady's, and slowly pried them from her face. "What if I just want you to know?"

His stubborn bug still had her eyes closed when her hands were pried away from her face. _She must really believe it's a bad thing for us to know..._ Adrien huffed, and briefly shut his eyes. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..._

All of a sudden, he felt Plagg swoop up beside them. "It wouldn't be so bad, you know, if you two knew. Tikki and I tell all our chosens at the start to not tell anyone.. But Tikki and I are two halves of a whole. It would probably benefit you two more if you knew each other." Plagg said, in all seriousness. Adrien opened his eyes to glance over at his kwami, surprised. _He's never this helpful._ "Plus..." Plagg continued "Then I wouldn't have to hear lover-boy here moan and groan about you." _And **that's**_ _more like Plagg._

Ladybug shifted her weight in front of Adrien, her earrings giving their final warning beeps. "Do you really think so...?" she whispered.

"I really do think so, Ladybug." Plagg responds, moving to hover over Adrien's shoulder. Adrien stood up a little straighter. _Is she...?_

Slowly, Ladybug's eyes opened. The first thing she saw was a black shirt, with four coloured stripes across the chest. Then she noticed the white over shirt, rolled up above his elbows. She slowly looks up his chest, to his jaw. It looks the same as it does in costume.

Finally she met his eyes, and shrieked when she realized who the boy under Chat Noir's mask was.

**_"Adrien?!"_ **

He grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hi, my Lady."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Adrien is Chat, and Ladybug knows it. Next, we see her reaction to the revelation! What will happen? Does she flee? Does she stay? Does she _reveal herself???_
> 
> Who knows! Next chapter will be up soon! And I plan to update at least once a week, if not once a day. Feel free to leave comments and kudos!


	2. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does Marinette decide to reveal her identity to Adrien? Or does she hide away from the truth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I am writing chapters in both Adrien and Marinette's perspective. I guess I have a habit of switching back and forth. I had originally planned to do the entire story in Adrien's point of view, but Marinette is very fun to write! So I will be switching back and forth every chapter or so between Marinette and Adrien's POV. So this one is in Marinette's.
> 
> Enjoy!

# Decisions 

"Hi, my Lady."

Marinette can't breathe. Adrien Agreste stood in front of her, calling her "My Lady" and acted just like Adrien. _How do those things even mix? Oh that's right, they don't. I've always considered Adrien and Chat two different people..._

"How...?" she stuttered out. "Wh--What? You're... Chat?"

Adrien looked down, obviously trying to avoid her gaze. "I am, my Lady. Have been for quite some time, now."

"But.. But.." she tried to put her thoughts into words. _The Adrien I know is nothing like Chat. Adrien is sweet and kind and hardworking... And Chat is a flirt, a playboy, and those **puns**_ _._ "How?"

"Umm.." he lifted his gaze back up, pushing his bangs to the side. "I'd assume the same way you become Ladybug...? Your kwami, I think Plagg called her Tikki?" he peered over to Plagg, who nodded in confirmation. "I thought you would have had this figured out by now, LB." he chuckled, his heart not seemingly as into it. 

_I know how to transform, but that doesn't explain how my dear sweet Adrien is also my partner, Chat!_ "I mean, how did you manage to be two places at once, Chaton? With Simon Says, you were in the bathroom, while Chat and I were..." Suddenly, realization dawned on her. She peered over his shoulder into the bathroom, to find her answer; _a window._ "So you left the bathroom as soon as I shut the door, transformed, and joined me. That's why you were late!" she accused.

"Yes, that's why I was late. Because I was already here, you just didn't know it yet." Adrien seemed lost in thought for a second, until he reached his hand up to her earrings. "You better leave, my Lady, unless you want me to see your civilian form as well..?" he said softly, his voice losing confidence by the end.

_Should I stay? What would he think once he saw that his partner was just the girl who sat behind him in class? Would he be... Disappointed?_

He seemed to catch her nervousness, and gently wrapped his arms around her. "No matter who you are beneath the mask, I could never be disappointed. I just want you to know that before you make your decision." Ladybug slowly wrapped her arms around him in return, melting in his comfort. Adrien was quiet for a moment, until he buried his face in the crook of her neck, murmuring "I will keep my eyes closed, because you're about to transform back and I don't want the decision to be made for you."

_I have the best partner **ever**_ _. Chat is my best friend, and I trust him with my life. Why shouldn't I trust him with this, too?_

"Adrien... Open your eyes." she felt him jerk at her words. _Did he think I wouldn't want to tell him?_ He lifted his head up, and peered down at her expectantly. _Here goes..._ "Tikki, spots off."

She was briefly surrounded in pink, and felt the magic rushing off, removing her spandex and returning her usual outfit. Tikki settled beside her, offered a small wave to Plagg, before they disappeared into Adrien's room to reconnect. She watched Adrien's face expectantly, waiting for the disappointment to settle on his features.

What she didn't expect was for Adrien to start laughing. Marinette stared at him like he'd grown a second head until he finally managed to get out a sentence.

"How.. Did I not see this coming?" he finally managed out between fits of laughter. "You sit behind me, every day! I wrote that poem last year in front of the lady it was meant for!" he slowly moved to grip the bottom of her chin, gently, turning her face back and forth to really look at her. "You have the same eyes!"

Marinette finally came to her senses, and scoffed at him. "Maybe it's because, we're, I dunno, the _same person_?"

It was Adrien's turn to look at her like she'd grown a second head. "What?" Marinette questioned, feeling uncomfortable. "Nothing!" Adrien blurted out. "You just... Don't talk to me like that when I'm Adrien..."

 _Like that was hard to forget... I can't talk normally around Adrien, but Chat and I argue like best friends..._ "Are you..." Adrien started, then looked down towards his shoes. "Disappointed that it's little old me?"

"What?" Marinette exclaimed, startling Adrien to look back up at her. "Disappointed it's.. You?" she shook her head frantically, trying to find words other than 'I can't talk straight around you because I have a mega-huge crush on you and don't know how to form coherent sentences around you!'. "How could I be disappointed that my partner is someone I know in daily life? Someone so sweet, kind, and loyal? No, Adrien, I'm not disappointed. I'm just... Overwhelmed, I think."

He breathed in a breath he didn't know he'd been holding while waiting for her answer. "Phew, that's good. I thought you hated me, and would have been disappointed that it was me." he let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, that wasn't so hard now, was it, Princess?" Adrien smirked a Chat-like smirk that had Marinette reeling for a moment, before settling her hands on her hips in a Ladybug-fashion.

"Now don't get started, Kitty. I had good reason for keeping our civilian identities a secret." she reached out and booped his nose for good measure.

Adrien still grinned. _What am I gonna do with this dumb cat? He's gonna be insufferable now that he knows who I am._ Suddenly, his gaze turned serious again. "What now?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are we gonna do now that we know each other's identities?"

She pondered his question for a moment. _Things would be different now that they knew who they were... I have to quit acting so love-struck around him, that's for sure. He'll never stop teasing me for crushing on his civilian-self. But who says anything has to be different? Maybe we should break it to Alya and Nino slowly... That we are actually closer than we thought we were._ "Well, we can't immediately change; Alya and Nino will become suspicious if we are suddenly closer to each other than we are to them. So maybe we could... I dunno, exchange numbers and start talking more at school, so it doesn't come off as quite as much of a shock to them?"

Adrien nodded in agreement. "Can't have Alya being suspicious of us, now. Especially not with Ladybug being her best friend." he snickered.

Marinette nodded solemnly, ignoring her partner's teasing. Alya had already correctly guessed who Chat Noir was, even if Marinette didn't know it was true at the time. "Adrien, about that... Alya actually guessed a few months ago who you really were." Adrien's eyes widened. "It was right after she was akumatized, she drew cat ears and a mask on a picture of you. But with your hair styled how it usually is.. You didn't really look like my partner to me, so I managed to steer her away from that. It's a good thing I did, looking back on it now." Marinette chewed on her lip lightly, thinking. "It's scary how close she is to both of us... What if she finds out who we really are, Chaton?"

Adrien brought his hand up to Marinette's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe she'll go off on an entirely different path next time, like she did with Chloe? If she hasn't figured you out already, I doubt she will." he gave her shoulder another quick squeeze before removing his hand. Marinette noticed quickly that she missed his presence. He turned his back and walked a few steps to his desk, where his phone was sitting. She'd been in his room a few times before, but always as Ladybug, and she had no reason to look around.

He had not one, but _four_ monitors sitting above his desk. And they were all currently open to the Ladyblog. _Not like I can say anything... I have a subscription to it for akuma's. Adrien probably does too._ He had a piece of red paper tacked to the wall, shaped in a heart... _My poem! He got it? He never said anything about it..._ The rest of his desk was meticulously clean, as if he had no more personal items to put on it. Next to his desk was a wall of trophies, and different posters for fencing competitions. The rest of his room was the same as his desk; clean and almost impersonal, very different from her own room. His rock climbing wall-- _rock climbing wall?!_ \-- lead all the way up to his second floor, chalk-full of books. Most likely books picked by his father, not things that Adrien would take the time to read. She'd have to take a closer look at it sometime. She turned in a full circle, getting the full view of the room. The windows showed off a beautiful view of their city; she could even see her balcony from his room. But the windows gave off a sense of confinement in the way that the frame between each sheet of glass was set up like prison bars. _Maybe his father never wanted him to leave... No wonder he feels so free as Chat Noir._

Adrien reappeared in her line of sight, offering her his phone. "I'll take you up on that offer to exchange numbers, my Lady." he winked. Marinette sighed, taking his phone and plugged her number in, but left the contact name blank. _He'd probably change it anyways._ The grin on his face was far too similar to his Cheshire counterpart, so she lightly pushed his chest. "It's just my number, Kitty. Don't overuse it."

Adrien staggered back, feigning being wounded. "You hurt me so, m'lady, assuming I would do such a treacherous thing!"

Marinette giggled, despite herself. _Maybe Adrien and Chat weren't so different after all..._ "Anyways... I should head home. My parents are probably expecting me home by now..." Adrien's face visibly fell from her words.

"Maybe... Maybe we could hang out before school tomorrow, Marinette?" he asked quietly. He put his phone into his pocket and wrung his hands.

 _Hang out with Adrien? Before school? No, hang out with your best friend before school. You can figure out your crush problems later. Being his friend as both Marinette and Ladybug comes first._ "Of course, Chaton. Meet me there half an hour before class starts?"

He smiled, and nodded. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed her hand, bowing before her in his usual Chat-like fashion, and kissed her knuckles. "I look forward to it, my Lady."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is basically how I envisioned Marinette's reaction to Adrien being her carefree partner. I know many fics have her freaking out at the revelation, but... Honestly, Marinette is Ladybug. She moves quick on her feet and takes a ton of things in stride. I'm not saying she won't freak out later, but... For now, she's alright with it.
> 
> Next chapter will be in Adrien's POV, and I plan to bring in the book that Tikki stole from Adrien who stole it from his father. We'll see how that conversation goes later!
> 
> Please leave kudos and/or comments if you liked it! I know the second chapter was longer than the first, but I've always been terrible at writing similarly lengthed chapters. So get ready for a feels train!


	3. Second Guesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Adrien has some time to himself, what will happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This continues right after Marinette's POV, leaving Adrien alone to his thoughts. What will Adrien think? Will Plagg be helpful? Read to see!

# Second Guesses 

Marinette transformed shortly after, and jumped out the open window in the bathroom. Adrien watched her go, and smiled when he saw her land on her balcony a few moments later.

Remembering he hadn't saved her contact, he pulled his phone back out of his pocket, and peered down at it. She had only put her number in, but Adrien smiled down at it, as if it were his most prized possession. _I have my Lady's number!! But... I can't abuse it. She'd drop this alley cat off the Eiffel Tower, for sure._ She hadn't put a name in the correlating spot, so he'd have to come up with something.

_Do I put Marinette? Ladybug? No, if anyone saw that, they'd get suspicious. LB? Princess? My Lady? Ugh, I have so many nicknames for her..._

He plugged **My Lady** in the slot, and saved the contact. He brought the contact back up, and clicked edit, adding  <3<3<3 beside her name. Adrien turned around, gripped his phone in his hand. He padded over to his bed, and sat on the edge.

_I revealed myself to Ladybug today. What was I thinking??? Things could have turned out so differently; she could have been so upset that I betrayed her. I knew she didn't want us to know our civilian identities... What if she really does hate me? She can never get out coherent sentences around me at school, is she still mad about that gum incident?_

"Kid." Plagg zoomed towards Adrien, holding a piece of Camembert in his small paws. "Stop overthinking this! You finally know who Ladybug is. That's a good thing, isn't it?" he asked, taking a bite of his smelly cheese.

Adrien sighed, and flopped back onto the covers. "Is it, Plagg? Do you think she was mad that I just... De-transformed in front of her?"

Plagg seemed to consider this for a second, before he breathed out a chuckle. "You aren't exactly subtle, kid, I'll give you that. But who says she didn't want to know your identity? She wasn't screaming at you, and she finally opened her eyes. Of her own free will, I might add." he flitted down to Adrien's chest, and glanced towards his chosen. "I think you would know if she was mad at you."

Adrien scrubbed his free hand over his eyes, mulling his kwami's words over. _He's right... You would know if Ladybug were mad. She wouldn't have been subtle about it._ "She did seem really surprised. Am I so different in the suit as I am out of it?"

His kwami nearly choked on the piece of cheese he was trying to swallow. Plagg coughed for a moment, before eying Adrien skeptically. "You're kidding, right?" When Adrien didn't answer, the kwami sighed. "Kid, I've never seen anyone act so differently in and out of suit. You are very uptight and act as the perfect son when you're Adrien. As Chat? You act carefree and flirt left, right, and center. If I didn't know you were my own chosen, I would have no idea that you two were the same person. So it's not hard to believe that Ladybug didn't recognize you in civilian form. That, and she..." he muttered off.

"She what?"

"Nevermind that. Do you have anymore cheese? I should get more cheese for taking your side on learning civilian identities." Plagg waved his paw back and forth, indicating he wasn't going to share any more information on the matter. Adrien sighed, and sat up. _Typical, Plagg. Give me a hint of something just to wave it in my face._

"Alright, let's go see if we can find you anymore cheese. Why did you back me up, anyways? I thought you would be indifferent to this." Adrien waved his hand in front of himself. Plagg just shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was really short! But I am working on the fourth chapter as I post this third chapter! So now we will be moving to Marinette's POV... What will she do???


	4. Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is when Marinette has some time to think about the events of the day. Tikki talks to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I ended things on such a short note with Adrien! Well, Marinette's chapters seem to be a little longer. So! This one will answer some of your questions on how the attack was similar (the exact same) and the English dub Volpina. Enjoy!

# Reminiscing 

As soon as Marinette's feet touched back on her bed, she de-transformed. She wasn't lying when she said she should probably be getting home; she was supposed to help out in the bakery after school. She bounded down the stairs to her computer to check the time; school just ended. _Phew, I'm not late. I don't think I can create a good excuse for being late today._

Tikki zoomed in Marinette's line of sight, her blue eyes wide. "How are you feeling, Marinette? Adrien sort of... Dropped that information on your lap."

Marinette hummed in agreement, and peered down at her hands. She has small hands, with long, thin fingers. Her pink nail polish was chipping a bit on her thumb and forefinger, from working on her latest project. She also had pinpricks on her thumb from pinning the skirt together when she was losing focus late last night. Marinette absentmindedly rubbed her index finger and thumb together, wondering how to respond to Tikki. _How am I feeling about this? That my best friend and partner is the same person as the guy I am head-over-heels for?_ "I don't know yet, Tikki. I mean, I know that they're the same person... But I don't think it's quite settled in yet. How did I never see it, Tikki?" she stopped rubbing her fingers together to press her palm to her chin.

Tikki looked lost in thought for a second, before she zoomed closer to her chosen's face. "Marinette, you always associated the two boys as different entities, you never really looked for the similarities. They're the same height, build, hair colour... But," Tikki paused, and put a small paw on Marinette's cheek "they do act quite differently in and out of suit, as you saw today. So... It's not difficult to see why you never thought they were the same person. You act quite similarly on both sides of the mask, minus your... Klutziness." Tikki giggled "But it's understandable why you didn't recognize your partner in Adrien, and Adrien in Chat."

Marinette gently scooped Tikki in her palms and pulled her close to her face. "Thanks, Tikki, you're the best!"

"Marinette?" Sabine called up. "Are you home yet?"

"Yeah, mom! I'll be down in a minute, just dropping my bag off upstairs." Marinette replied, releasing Tikki to flit across the room to the plate of cookies she left there earlier. She gave a small wave to her kwami before she rushed downstairs to help her parents for a few hours.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Marinette returned to her room a few hours later, covered in flour, she immediately jumped in the shower to wash away the day.

_It's not so bad that Adrien is my partner..._ Marinette thought, as she washed the conditioner from her hair. _It means we are a lot closer than I thought we were! It's silly, now that I think about it, that I always get so nervous around him. I've flung him into an akuma's grasp before! It's probably a good thing that we know each other's identities now, just like Adrien said. What if something happened, like today, when I thought Volpina had Adrien? He was really right beside me the whole time... And I almost gave Volpina my miraculous!! I can't believe I almost did that. Adrien must think I am so stupid now..._

_Wait...._

_Adrien is Chat Noir... Adrien is my partner... I've been rejecting Chat's affections because of my affections for Adrien... I've been rejecting Adrien for Adrien!!!_

She slammed her palm into her forehead, closed her eyes, and leaned her head into the spray to cool off the heat that raced to her cheeks. _How did I not see this coming?!_

Marinette shut off the taps, and stepped out, before she grabbed her fuzziest pink towel. She quickly changed into a white tank top and pink sleep shorts, and walked out of her bathroom. She moved towards her desk and surveyed the mess; she had left all of her spools of thread next to her sewing machine, along with some folded pieces of pink and white fabric strewn beside it. She had also left her wooden needle kit open, and it sat precariously close to the edge, so she clicked it shut and pushed it towards the wall. But her messy desk could be tomorrow's problem. Marinette threw her towel over the back of her desk chair, and she spun to sit in her chair and turned to her monitor. _My singular monitor, not four like Adrien has. Who even needs four monitors anyways?_

She flicked her mouse to bring her monitor to life. There was nothing new on the Ladyblog, other than a video of what happened on the Eiffel Tower (or what Alya could see from the ground, anyways). She clicked 'play'. The video started with Ladybug and Chat Noir running up the side of the Eiffel Tower, then shifted to Volpina holding "Adrien" by his wrist. The audio was grainy, with Alya shooting from so far away, but she knew what Volpina was saying. Marinette quickly clicked out of the Ladyblog, not wanting to see anymore.

Marinette spun to look at her chaise, where Tikki was currently sleeping beside an empty plate previously holding cookies. She giggled softly to herself, and stood up to go get Tikki. _She'll be so cranky in the morning if I leave her to sleep on a plate._ She walked up the steps towards her own bed, to the little bed she fashioned for her little kwami ages ago, and placed her in as gently as she could.

As soon as Marinette placed Tikki in her bed, she heard her phone buzz from somewhere in her room. _Where did I leave it?_ She quickly went back down the stairs to search for her phone, and wondered who was texting her. She finally found her phone in her bag; she never did actually take it out after the akuma attack. It was a new number, but she immediately recognized who it was by the content of the message.

**Hello, my Lady. <3**

Marinette giggled, despite herself. She quickly added Adrien's number to her contacts before responding.

**Hello, Chaton! What are you up to this evening?**

His response was almost instantaneous, as if he was waiting for her response. **Oh, nothing too adventurous. Thinking of heading to bed early so I can be at my Lady's complete disposal in the morning. You?**

_That's right! I agreed to meet Adrien to hang out before class! That means I have to be awake even earlier..._ Marinette glanced over to her unfinished skirt longingly. "Guess I can't work on you tonight." she whispered to her skirt, as if expecting an answer. **I should also head to bed soon, then! Don't want to sleep through our date, right Chaton?**

She clicks 'send' before thinking about what she said. _**Date?!**_ _What was I thinking?!_

**I didn't realize you thought so highly of this so called "alley-cat", Princess! I'll let you get your beauty rest then!**

Marinette shook her head. _Of course he'd think that. Well, I didn't leave him much choice._ **Sounds good, alley cat! I'll see you at 7:30 then?**

**Wouldn't miss it for the world <3**

Marinette smiled down at her phone, before closing out of her messages to set a new series of alarms. _Maybe Tikki will manage to get me out of bed. I just have to remember that it's Adrien I'm going to see._ She padded back up the stairs to her bed, and plopped down, placing her phone beside her pillow. Whispering "Good night, Tikki" to her sleeping kwami, Marinette rolled over and closed her eyes, looking forward to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Two chapters in the span of a few hours, and a ton of likes and kudos and comments in 24hours!!! I am so honoured, guys, thanks a bunch!! I've never had a fic blow up this quickly. I have some big plans for the next few chapters, which may be posted at odd times of the day (whenever I feel like writing) so feel free to subscribe!


	5. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does Marinette get up on time? Does Adrien keep his cool about hanging out with his Lady outside of akmua attacks and patrols? Does Marinette dress up for Adrien? (obviously, she is an aspiring fashion student after all...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Adrien... I tried writing a longer chapter in his perspective, but I guess I relate more to Marinette and find her easier to write.
> 
> Well, they're meeting up for their 'date'! What will they talk about? Will it be cute, or awkward?

# Meetings 

Adrien paced in front of the steps leading up into the school. _I knew I came here too early... I wonder if she will be as excited to see me._

When Adrien woke up earlier that morning, his first thoughts had been _Why is my phone going off so early?_ Until he realized... _Marinette and I are going to hang out before class!_ So Adrien had thrown the covers off, which launched Plagg into the air. He had only half-listened to the earful Plagg gave him for waking him up early, and frantically searched through his drawers to find the perfect outfit.

"You do realize that Marinette's not gonna care what you're wearing...? She sees you in a leather cat suit every other day, I think she'd be okay with sweats and a sweater." Plagg had offered, quite unhelpfully. Adrien had given Plagg a look that expressed his views on his kwami's idea. "Fine, fine." Plagg eventually said. "Wear what you want. Just don't be late!"

Adrien stared down at a crack in the concrete at the bottom of the steps. The crack wasn't a very impressive crack; not very deep or jagged. It started at the base of the school's steps, nearly hidden in their shadow, and protruded towards where Adrien was standing. The crack was worn down, as if it had been trampled by many pairs of feet over the years, which it probably had been. Adrien had probably stepped on it numerous times coming and going from the school without even noticing it. _It's crazy what you notice when it feels like the world is standing still._

_Maybe I should text her... She's almost always late for class, she probably hasn't even gotten out of bed yet. Yeah, I should text her..._

"Adrien?"

Adrien jumped, turning to face where the voice came from. Immediately, a smile broke out across his face. "Good morning, Marinette."

Marinette walked towards him, dressed comfortably in a pale pink long sleeve sweater and black leggings. She paired it with a simple pair of tan ankle boots and a silver layered necklace. "Did I scare you, Adrien? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" she quickly apologized, and tugged on the ends of her hair. Adrien quickly noticed that her hair was out of it's usual pigtails, instead styled in loose curls. _She looks absolutely adorable!_

"It's okay, Marinette! I didn't expect you would show up for a little while, yet. I was just about to text you, actually, to make sure you remembered, but I guess you did!" Adrien replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wondering if I was awake, yet, huh?" she asked, and stopped just a few steps in front of him. "It's a good thing I went to bed early last night, or I would have slept through my alarm!" Marinette giggled quietly. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Well, I am very glad you didn't sleep through our 'date', as you called it last night." he smirked, earning a bright blush from Marinette. "I would have been very disappointed."

Marinette took a deep breath and peered down at her boots, gathering her thoughts before mumbling out "Wouldn't miss it for the world", as if quoting Adrien from their conversation last night.

Adrien looked down at the girl standing before him, and wondered how he could be so lucky to have her as his best friend. _What does she see in me?_ "Should we head in? It'd look awkward if we were standing out here all morning. I think the library is open?" he asked, gesturing vaguely into the school. Marinette nodded, and they padded up the steps of the school together.

"So... Are you okay that I'm...?" Marinette motioned to her earrings. "We didn't really talk about it yesterday, and now you've had time to think about it..." she twisted the edge of her sweater in her hands nervously.

Adrien reached his hand out to grab her elbow, pulling her to a stop beside him. "Why would I be disappointed, Marinette?" She shrugged, looking so small. _Is she worried that I'm disappointed?_ "I could never be disappointed that you're my partner. You're kind, strong, smart, and just as beautiful in spots as you are without." Marinette blushed at his words, but he carried on. "You are adored by all of our classmates, and with good reason. They all know how amazing you are, just like I do. Why can't you see it?"

His partner looked up at him. "I don't know, Adrien, maybe because I'm nothing like Ladybug? I'm clumsy and not as brave as I am behind the mask." she removed her hands from the edge of her sweater to place them on her hips. "I'm not as good at being Marinette as I am at being Ladybug."

Adrien gaped at the girl standing before him. _Did she really think that?_ "Marinette... That's not true. Even before I knew your identity, I was comparing you and Ladybug to each other, because you act so similarly... Your bravery, courage, your hate for lies... You are equally as good at being both Marinette and Ladybug, because you _are_ both of them." He loosened his grip on her elbow to pull her into a hug. "You are good enough, Marinette, better than just good enough, okay?"

Marinette stood shock-still for a moment, before gently wrapping her arms around him in return. "Okay, I believe you Adrien. I just... Wanted to make sure you were okay with this."

"And are you okay with me? Being your partner? I know I act... Very differently as Chat and Adrien."

Marinette hummed in agreement, and nuzzled her cheek into his chest. "You do act very differently. I never would have put the pieces together, since you're always so... Passive, and as Chat you're so much more playful. Not that it's a bad thing! I'm glad my partner is someone I know. I'm glad it's you." she gave a quick squeeze before backing out of Adrien's arms. "So, you said something about the library? Come on, chaton, let's go there."

"As you wish, my Lady." Adrien smiled, and follows Marinette up the steps to the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Not too much awkwardness, but it's hard to write Adrien in his "too-innocent-and-completely-stupid-about-his-feelings-for-Marinette" mindset, but he's starting to realize how cute she is "without her spots"... [which she totally has, they're just not as obvious as ladybug spots]
> 
> Next chapter, I'm introducing Alya and Nino to the story! See what they think of their best friends hanging out before class... And obviously dressing up for the occasion.
> 
> Should I have some DJWifi??  
> ...I think I want DJWifi. But let me know what you guys think!


	6. Thief?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien make it up to the library, where they sit and have a serious chat [hehe] about what happened yesterday. Adrien's book is brought up, [finally] and they talk about it with their kwamis?
> 
> Also, Alya and Nino stalk them. They've gotta be the best wingman and wingwoman [wingpeople??] possible for their besties!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! The kiddos talk about what happened with Volpina the day before, and they talk to their kwami's about Adrien's father's book. Will they say anything?
> 
> Also, Alya and Nino find them at the ~best~ time. Confusion ensues, and then some explaining.

# Thief? 

"We should really talk about what happened yesterday... With Volpina." Adrien said quietly, not quite looking at Marinette.

Marinette took a deep breath, steeling herself for what Adrien will probably say. _You almost gave an akuma your miraculous? What were you thinking? What about protecting Paris? Hawkmoth cannot get to us like that again. I can't purify akumas on my own, I need you!_ "You're right, we should." she whispered. The bluenette crossed her arms on the desk and laid her forehead on her forearms. "I'm really sorry." Marinette starts, words muffled by her position. "I never should have even thought of giving Volpina my miraculous. I'm not sure what I was thinking..." _Of course I do. I was trying to save you, or what I thought was you. I can't lose you, Adrien._ "I'm glad you took action before I could take my earrings off."

Marinette heard rather than saw Adrien shift towards her. "It's okay, Marinette... I'm glad I did too. What were you thinking, though? Without your yoyo's, you would have fallen from nearly the top of the Eiffel tower!" he took a calming breath. "I wouldn't have been able to handle that, my Lady. You don't have nine lives like this cat does."

"You do realize you don't actually have nine lives, right, chaton?" Marinette lifted her head up to look at Adrien again, who smiled softly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. _He should never smile like that; it looks wrong on his features._ "Hey." she reaches out to gently grasp his chin. "Let's not think about what could have happened; let's just be glad things turned out the way they did, even if Lila was still mad at me after we purified the akuma."

Adrien's eyes shifted; he looked down at the table. "Speaking of which... You caused an akuma yesterday, my Lady. Why did you call her out yesterday?"

Marinette quickly let go of Adrien's chin, clenched her hands together in her lap. "Because she was lying to you! She was not a real miraculous holder, she was a fake! And she stole your book from you, I couldn't let her keep spinning you into her web!"

His eyes snapped back up to her face. "My book?" Adrien asked, incredulously. "Which book?" He reached down to his bag to open it.

"The one Tikki said was really important. I haven't really looked at it yet. It was a red hardcover book, with intricate gold designs on the front?"

Adrien visibly paled. "She stole my father's book? Where is it? Does Lila still have it?"

Marinette giggled nervously. "About that... When you met up with Lila in the park yesterday... She threw it in a trashcan to make sure you didn't see it. Didn't you notice how she kept you from bringing your book out of your bag when she mentioned being Volpina? That's because she stole it. Tikki dug it out of the trash, and it's sitting at home on my chaise now. I didn't get a chance to look at it. What's in that book?"

Adrien took a deep breath. "Phew, so you have it. At least I know where it is. Can I have it back after school?"

"Of course you can, Adrien. You can come over after class and I will give it to you. But you never answered my question; what's in the book?"

Suddenly, Tikki phased out of Marinette's purse and hovered on top of the table. "It's a book holding the history of the miraculous'!"

"What??" Adrien and Marinette exclaimed at the same time. "Why does my father have a book on the miraculous'?"

"That's a good question, kid." Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's bag to join Tikki on the table. "I was wondering that myself, but I didn't want you to get suspicious about the book." Plagg and Tikki shared a look. "We should get it back to the Guardian."

"Who's the Guardian?" Marinette asked, pointedly looking at Tikki. "You've never mentioned him before."

Tikki shrugged her small shoulders. "You didn't need to know about him. Not all of our chosens meet the guardians of their time, only when they need to."

Plagg nodded along with Tikki. "Plus, Wayzz is such a killjoy." he glanced up at his chosen. "Why would Gabriel have the book, anyways? He's never had a miraculous, has he, Tikki?" the kwami in question shook her head, rubbing her tiny paws together in thought.

Adrien stared down at Tikki, then slowly reached his hand down for her to stand on. "You're much more pleasant than Plagg. Why couldn't I get the power of creation?" The kwami of destruction hissed his dislike at his chosen, while Tikki giggled. "Plus, you're cuter."

"Oh, I don't know about that!" Marinette cooed, and gently picked Plagg up in her palm. "He's pretty adorable!" she gently pats Plagg in the center of his forehead, which caused him to purr.

"Be careful, Marinette." Adrien warned, still staring down at Tikki. "He's quite insufferable in the mornings. He bites, too." he offered Tikki a small smile. "I bet you're a morning being, like me."

Tikki nodded enthusiastically. "I am! I bet Marinette and Plagg would get along really well, being curled up in bed until the early afternoon." Both beings in question huffed in agreement. Adrien and Tikki laughed heartily at their partners.

"Hey, kid, do you have any cheese?" Plagg rumbled out between purrs, glancing over at Adrien. "I'm staaaaaaaaaarving!" the boy sighed, placing Tikki down on the table. He reached for his bag again, and muttered something about "smelly cheese" and "ungrateful".

"Don't eat it too quickly, Plagg." Adrien said sternly, and glared the kwami. "We're not going straight home at the end of class, so you have to make it last." Plagg took the cheese, held it between his paws, and took a big bite. Adrien sighed, shaking his head, and wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans.

Adrien was wearing a white collared shirt underneath a tan long sleeve sweater. The crisp ends of his collared shirt were tucked into his dark blue tailored jeans, and he had a pair of brown boots from his father's fall line. _Adrien looks so handsome... Why doesn't he dress up like that more often?_ His hair wasn't styled quite the same as it usually was... It looked a little more like Chat's hairstyle, a little more windblown.

Marinette reached out to ruffle the front of Adrien's hair, which caused him to jump back in his chair a bit. "What are you doing, Marinette?!" he squeaked out.

Marinette giggled, and followed him back in his seat and tried to ruffle his hair further. "Your hair is too neat; I like it better when you're in suit." she stops ruffling his hair to survey her handiwork; it looked **just** like Chat Noir's hairstyle.

Adrien pouted, managing to look like a drowned kitten, causing Marinette to laugh even harder. Both completely miss the squeak of the library doors opening, and the soft gasp of their best friends as they overlook the scene; Marinette doubled over laughing, and Adrien pouting while trying to fix his hair. The kwami's however heard the squeak and sped into hiding in their respective chosen's bags.

"Alright, I'll be the first to ask here. What's going on?" Alya asked from her position beside Nino in the doorway. "Are we interrupting something?"

Adrien, still pouting, was the first to respond. "No no, we were just hanging out. Come join us!" he exclaimed, and pulled out his phone to properly fix his hair. "What are you guys doing here so early?"

"Dude, it's not that early. There's only five minutes 'till class, and Alya here wanted to return a book, so I thought I'd join her. We totally didn't expect to find you here!" Nino replied, and sauntered up to Adrien's side.

"Nino's right, totally didn't expect to find you guys here." Alya eyed her best friend pointedly. "What are you guys talking about?"

Marinette caught Adrien's eye, smiled, and shook her head. "Oh, nothing, really. Just a book we're both interested in." Marinette said, and looked back to face Alya. "You said class was about to start? We should get going, then!"

"Time flies when you're having fun, right Marinette?" Adrien smirked. He pushed his chair back, and stood to move beside the other boy.

"It sure does, Adrien." she chirped. Marinette linked arms with Alya and pulled her towards the door. Alya gave her a look that screamed ' _we-are-going-to-talk-about-this-later_ ', and Nino gave Adrien an incredulous look, before the boys followed the girls out of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! Marinette invited Adrien over to her house after school to get the book, and Alya and Nino are super suspicious of their besties now. Plagg and Marinette get along swimmingly, and so do Tikki and Adrien. Obviously, we all knew they would.
> 
> Does Alya think something's up? Of course she does! Does Nino talk Adrien into manning up? He better! Do Adrien and Marinette meet the Guardian?? We'll see in the next chapter!


	7. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino has a long talk with Adrien about what's going on with Marinette; does Adrien listen to him?
> 
> They go back to Marinette's house, and Adrien gets scolded by all the women in vicinity for his eating habits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Apparently this is my longest chapter yet in Adrien's POV. It was a lot of work, but I'm happy with how it turned out [even if I was 100% procrastinating from studying for my last exam...].
> 
> The poor cat-son. **There is mention of a form of abuse in how Gabriel has his son on an anorexic diet because he's gaining weight [muscle] and that's not good for the company.** Just wanted to give you all a heads up, but the Dupain-Cheng's fix that right up!

# Discussions 

Nino and Adrien trailed behind the two girls towards their homeroom, but Nino laid a hand on Adrien's shoulder to tug him further behind. "So, you gonna tell me what the deal is between you and Marinette, or do I have to hear it from Alya?"

Adrien nearly tripped over his own feet at his best friend's forwardness. _Wow, Marinette was right. Alya and Nino are suspicious. Maybe we should have taken it a little slower._ "Uhh, what do you mean, Nino? Marinette and I are just friends." the blonde said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Friends, huh?" the boy in question shook his head. "That's not what it looked like when Alya and I came in the library, dude. That was some next level flirting!"

Adrien stuttered, trying to find words to sway his friend. "N-no! Th-that.. That's not what that was? What flirting?" he coughed awkwardly, and felt a blush rise to his cheeks. _He's probably going to be mad at me... He used to have a crush on her._

Nino doubled over, laughing loudly, which caused Alya and Marinette to turn and look at the boys. Adrien grinned sheepishly, and waved the girls ahead. He glared down at Nino for his loud outburst. _What's so funny??_ "Dude!" Nino choked out between chortles. "That's a lie, and I know that for a fact." he took a deep breath, and adjusted his glasses to really look at his friend. "So, let's be straight here. Do you like Marinette?"

Adrien looked past Nino, towards where the girls stood outside the classroom. Marinette was twirling the ends of her loose hair, listening to something Alya was gushing about. She looked so adorable, so calm and elegant, just like Ladybug. _I wish I could show her how she is amazing at being who she is, whether she has spandex or cotton on._ "Yeah... I do like Marinette. It took me a while to see it, but... I really like her." he whispered, twisting his hands in the bottom of his sweater nervously. "But I don't think she feels the same way, Nino. What do I do?"

Nino grabbed both of Adrien's shoulders, and pulled him to face him. "You're kidding, right dude?" Adrien stayed silent. "You didn't hear this from me, because Alya will _kill_ me if she hears I told you this... but Marinette has a crush on you, dude!" he whisper-shouted.

" **What?!** " Adrien shrieked. _My Lady has a crush on me???_ "No way, Nino, I think you're wrong. She could never stand to say anything to me! How could she like me?"

Nino hung his head, and let go of the other boy's shoulders. "Dude, you seriously must be blind. Marinette could never say anything around you because she has a mega-huge crush on you! Don't you see? You should ask her out!"

Adrien shook his head, and took a step back from Nino. "I can't ask her out! What if she says no?" _I don't think I could handle being rejected again..._

"She **won't** say no, Adrien. Just... Think about it?" Nino clapped Adrien's shoulder lightly, and shook his head. Adrien couldn't quite catch what he was saying, but heard Nino mutter something about "stupid model" and "cloud nine" and "matchmaker". The bell rang, interrupting anything more they could have said, and the boys made their way to class.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When classes finally ended for the day, Adrien turned back to look at Marinette. She had her hair tucked behind her ears, leaning down over her desk, furiously scribbling something on her paper before passing it to Alya. _Oh no, she's really cute._

Marinette finally looked up to Adrien, smiling softly. "Ready to go?" Adrien nods in affirmation, standing up.

Alya and Nino simultaneously snap their heads up to stare at Marinette, but she ignored their gazes, keeping her eyes on her partner. "So..." Alya interrupted. "I'll talk to you later, Marinette?" she said, not-so-subtly grabbed Nino and dragged him towards the door.

Adrien laughed, and shook his head. "You were so right, as per usual. Did Alya grill you as much as Nino grilled me?" he questioned, and fell in step beside Marinette outside the classroom.

Marinette groaned, running her hand through her hair. "Of course I was right. Alya wouldn't stop pestering me, asking me if I'd lost my mind or if we were already dating but hiding it from her." she turned to look up at the boy beside her. "How bad was Nino?"

Adrien felt a light blush flowing to his cheeks, and he pulled on the sleeve of his sweater. "Oh, you know... Just the usual guy spiel. Nothing I couldn't handle."

The girl beside him hummed, seemingly lost in thought. "We may as well go straight to my house. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, that works. Maybe we can meet that Guardian that Plagg mentioned?" Adrien said, and glanced down at his bag. "Do you have any cheese, Marinette? I don't think I have any more for Plagg, and he'll get grumpy without it."

Marinette giggled. "I'll see what we can do for Plagg's tastes. I do live above a bakery. Does he have a preference?"

"Camembert!" Plagg shrieked out form the depths of Adrien's backpack. Adrien grimaced "Anything you have is fine, I know camembert is expensive." he says, making sure to enunciate the last words loud enough for Plagg to hear.

Marinette tapped her fingers on her chin, lost in thought. "We might actually have some. Papa wanted to try a new recipe, camembert cheese bread...? I think that's what he said, anyways."

Adrien shushed her "Don't say that too loud! If he knows you have it, he'll always want to come back."

"If that's what it takes to keep you around, Kitty, I might have to keep it in stock." Marinette threw a wink over her shoulder at Adrien, and opened the front door to the bakery. Adrien was left gaping in the doorway, the door swinging shut on him and forcing him into the bakery. _She wants me to spend more time here???_

"Hi mom! Hi dad!" Marinette called into the bakery. "Adrien's here for a bit, alright? He came to get a book, but do you mind if he stays for a bit?" She wandered towards the door leading to the staircase.

"Of course, honey!" Marinette's mom, Adrien recalls her name is Sabine, called back. "I'll send some snacks up in a bit, alright?"

"Thanks, mom!" she glanced back to Adrien, who still stood in the entrance of the bakery. _There are so many goodies in here..._ "You coming, Adrien? Mom will bring us some fresh snacks later. Come on!"

Adrien nodded, then trailed behind Marinette up the staircase leading to their home. She made a beeline for the kitchen to open the fridge. Adrien took the opportunity to survey the room. _It was small, but felt homier. More lived in. The bookshelf to the left of the door was filled with photographs of their family, mostly of Marinette through the years, so he walked over to it. There was a picture of Marinette at a birthday party, she was perhaps six, with her two front teeth missing. Adrien smiled fondly, and thought about the pictures he had in his own home. They were all modelling photos, nothing 'real' like Marinette's. There was a picture of their family, from the park across the bakery. They were all smiling, and they looked so happy, unlike the gigantic photo of Adrien and his father in their entryway. This must be what a real family looks like._

"Aha!" Marinette suddenly exclaimed. Adrien jumped. "Plagg, I found some camembert! But you can't eat all of it, papa still needs some for his recipe." Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's bag to Marinette, and landed in her outstretched palm. She gave him the piece of cheese, and absentmindedly stroked his head while he ate. Adrien crossed his arms, and stalked over to her.

"You treat him much better than you treat me, Princess." he pouted. "I need pets and affection too, you know."

Marinette sighed, and scratched under Adrien's chin absentmindedly, before she placed Plagg on the counter and dropped her hand from Adrien's chin. He immediately missed the contact. "Let's head up, the book's up on my chaise." She motioned to the staircase leading up to her room, and cut ahead of Adrien.

Once Marinette reached her room, she opened her purse to let Tikki fly out. Tikki zoomed over to the plate of cookies had Marinette left out for her on the corner of her desk, while Marinette ventured farther in. She threw the empty purse onto her desk, and walked over to her chaise. She grabbed the book before plopping where it once sat. Adrien followed behind, and peered around the room. He'd been here before, when they had planned on competing in the Metcha Strike competition together, but he'd had no reason to come back since. _The entire room was **pink**. From her wall, to her desk chair, to her chaise, to her mannequin, even her computer background was pink. Her room was smaller than his own, but, not everyone had a father who overcompensated for his absence with materialistic things. She had used her limited space well; it didn't feel small or confining._ Adrien made his way over to sit on the chaise beside her, and eyed at the book in her lap.

"That's my father's book, all right."

"Where did you find it? I don't think this is something he would leave lying around."

Plagg joined them with his dwindling piece of cheese between his paws. "We stole it from the safe in his dad's office." Plagg chirped. "There was a lot of weird stuff in there. Speaking of which..." Plagg mumbled off. "I need to talk to Tikki." he zoomed over to where she's sitting.

Marinette squeaked at this information. "You stole it from your dad's safe?! What if he notices that it's gone??"

Adrien rubbed his hands on his thighs, thinking. "I don't know if he will. I hope he doesn't, but I should try to get it back there as soon as possible. May I?" he asked, indicating to the book. Marinette placed it on his lap, and he opened it. She shifted closer to him, so she could read the book with him. "I can't read any of this!" he exclaimed after a few moments. "What language is this in?"

"It's in the languages the Guardians spoke of the time; ancient Egyptian, Greek, Mandarin, Spanish, even English for a small section." Tikki explained from her spot on the desk. "That's why we should get it back to the Guardian. He will explain everything."

"You two keep mentioning this Guardian..." Marinette accused. "But we've never met him. Can we trust him?"

"But you've already met him, Marinette, even if you didn't know his real name. Both of you did." Tikki switched her gaze to Adrien. "But, Marinette, you've seen him more recently. Remember the man you took me to see when I was sick?" Marinette hummed an affirmation. "That's the Guardian."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and turned to face Adrien. "He doesn't live too far from here, maybe we should go visit him, and see what he has to tell us? Does that sound good?"

"Sure! But... Do we have to go right away?" Adrien looked up at Marinette, shyly. "You mom said she was bringing snacks up..."

Marinette glared at Adrien accusingly. "You didn't eat lunch today, did you?" Adrien ducked his head. "Is this because your dad wants you to lose weight?"

Adrien pulled on the edge of his sweater, not meeting Marinette's piercing gaze. "Well... It's hard to say that you're gaining muscle when you're out fighting akumas every other day. So I'm gaining unnecessary weight." he mumbled. "It's fine, we can go. I shouldn't eat sweets anyways."

Marinette closed the distance between them and wrapped him up in a hug. "Oh, mon chaton... Why didn't you say anything? I would have got you something as soon as we came in the house!" she tutted. "Come on, we'll go down to the bakery now to grab you something; you will never starve while in the presence of a Dupain-Cheng!" she exclaimed, and released Adrien from the hug. She stood up, and grabbed his hand to pull him up after her.

Adrien followed Marinette blindly down the stairs. _She's holding my hand. She's holding my hand voluntarily. Ladybug-No, **Marinette** is holding my hand!_ They made their way down to the bakery, and ventured right into the kitchen. Tom and Sabine looked up at their entrance, and glanced down at their hands. They smiled softly at each other, knowing full well of their daughter's feelings for the boy.

"Hi, kids!" Tom exclaimed. "We were just about to come up, the croissants just came out of the oven." Adrien felt his mouth watering at the notion. "Did you want anything else?"

"Papa," Marinette began, "Adrien hasn't really eaten anything today. Do you mind if we take some macaroons and cookies, too?"

Sabine gasped at hearing her daughter's words. "You haven't eaten today, Adrien?" he shook his head and avoided her gaze by looking down at the tiled floor beneath their feet. "Well, we'll have to change that. Of course you can have some macaroons and cookies as well, but," she lifted her finger, pointing it at Adrien. "only if you will stay for dinner."

Adrien's gaze flashed back up to Mrs. Cheng's. "Oh, no, ma'am, I couldn't be a both-"

"Nonsense, Adrien, honey. I want to make sure you eat properly before you leave this house. This boy will never starve while in the presence of a Cheng woman!" she vowed. Adrien blushed, and thanked her profusely, while Marinette grabbed the goodies. _All the women in this family want to fatten me up. I don't know whether to love it or fear it!_

Marinette skipped back over to Adrien, grabbed his elbow, and pulled him back upstairs with a "thank you!" to her parents. Once they're back up in her room, she passed Adrien the bag, and stole a few cookies to add to Tikki's plate. Adrien sat back on the chaise, while Marinette paced around the room.

"Your parents don't have to feed me, you know..." Adrien mumbled around a macaroon. "I'd be fine on my own."

"Don't worry, Adrien. We want to feed you. It's wrong of your dad to keep you on a stupid diet... You're already too skinny, and with all the calories you burn running around in spandex?" Marinette shook her head. "You need more calories in your life. And with how fast you're eating," she giggled, peering down into Adrien's quickly emptying bag, "I'd say you enjoy those goodies."

Adrien starts to eat slower after that, even shared a cookie with Marinette when she sat down beside him. "Thank you, my Lady. You do know how to pamper this cat." he winked.

Marinette blushed, and stared down at her hands. "It's just cookies, Adrien..."

"It's more than that, Marinette." Adrien cupped her chin, to try to pull her gaze up to his. "It's the notion of all this, looking out for me, even the little things. I really appreciate it. You were my first real friend, and my _best_ friend, someone I can always count on. I don't know how to ever repay you for that."

"You mean a lot to me too, you dumb cat." she whispered. "You've been the rock in my life for quite some time now, even if I never really showed it. You've been with me for the worst akuma attacks, the patrols, and sitting in front of me every day. All we can do now is just continue being there for each other." Marinette smiled softly. _Her smile is so much like mom's... Does she know how amazing she is?_

_Nino said she had-- _has_ \--a crush on me. But she always disregarded my flirtations as Chat. But now that she knows... Would she give me a chance?_

"Adrien?" Marinette questioned, bluebell eyes flicking over Adrien's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry Princess. I was just thinking. But we should be heading out to the Guardian's house, don't you think?"

"You're right. Hopefully he's not too busy." Marinette stood up, and turned to face the kwami's who still sat on her desk. "It'd be faster if we suited up. Ready, Tikki?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek! I had to throw a little doubting-Adrien at the end, but now that the boy's admitted his feelings... Where will that lead?
> 
> Next chapter [finally] I will be introducing Fu. I apologize for the wait, but apparently I like to drag things out. Also, we'll be having a big family dinner at the Dupain-Cheng's! This will be fun ;)


	8. Visits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette go to visit Fu to get answers. Do they get them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone brought to my attention something that needed editing a few chapters ago. So, I have gone back and edited all of my chapters, adding things here and there [nothing major]. Thanks to them, the story flows much better now [in my opinion].
> 
> So! Moral of this is: if you see anything that needs editing, feel free to let me know. I'm always up for constructive criticism [within reason]. I write this story for my own pleasure, and for the enjoyment of my readers. I do write without a beta, and as I am human, I do tend to miss things. So please be kind about my mistakes, as I will always own up to them and fix them as soon as possible.

# Visits 

Cat Noir and Ladybug launched off the balcony above the bakery and headed south to the Guardian's house. No words were spoken between the two superheros until they landed on an adjacent roof to the Guardian's home. They hopped down into an alleyway, de-transforming.

"So..." Adrien started, glancing over at his Lady. "What's he like?" he asked, gently guiding Plagg towards Marinette's purse.

Marinette opened her purse for both kwami's to hide in, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "He's a very nice old man, from what I've seen of him. We haven't discussed anything miraculous-related, but... He played along with my story about Tikki." she shrugged. The bluenette gestured across the street. "Shall we?"

Adrien nodded, and followed in step behind Marinette across the street to the Guardian's front door.

The small two story building was modest compared to the buildings surrounding it, not overpowering in any way. It consisted of a mix of exposed bricks, from vermilion red to chocolate brown, with a small balcony overlooking the street. There were small orange Chinese lanterns hanging from the railing, supporting various Chinese symbols for peace, strength, happiness, and harmony. The window's shutters were all open, leaving the pale curtains to flow with the breeze. There was a small garden on either side of the entryway, filled with bright pink orchids and pale yellow chrysanthemums. It gave an overall sense of peacefulness, from the dark red paint fading from the door, to the rusting metal fence surrounding the small flower garden just below the first story windows.

Marinette took a deep breath, and turned to face Adrien. He was standing a few steps behind her, looking up at the building for the first time. "You ready to head in, Chaton?" she asked quietly. He nodded.

She walked up the cracking step towards the front door. There was a large knocker displayed proudly in the center, shaped as a turtle. The turtle was golden, about the size of a watermelon, and had precise lines drawn to encase details in the shell. Its shell gleamed proudly in the sunlight, reflecting Marinette's dark hair in the surface. The tail was slightly less shiny, presumably from it's use as the knocker. Marinette lifted the tail and struck it twice against the wood, and took a step back. She felt Adrien place his hand on her shoulder, offering his support. She glanced over at him and smiled softly, before snapping her gaze back to the door as it opened.

A small Chinese man peered out, before meeting the gaze of the two teenagers. He was wearing a green Hawaiian shirt and tan shorts cut off just below the knee, with a simple pair of sandals. He stood a few inches shorter than Marinette, with his receding grey hair pulled away from his face. His fawn brown eyes quickly flickered over the two teenagers before a smile lit up his face. "Hello, Ladybug, Chat Noir." he said quietly, nodding to each superhero in turn. "How may I help you?"

Adrien straightened up, and looked back over their shoulders to make sure nobody heard the man call them by their alter egos. "Uhh..." he stuttered out. "We have.. Some requests-- questions! Questions for you." he took a step closer to Marinette, hovering just centimeters from her.

"Questions?" the Guardian asked, and lifted his hand to stroke his chin. "I'd assume your kwami's would be able to answer any questions you may have."

"Not about this, Master Fu." Marinette said, patting her purse. "Tikki and Plagg said that you would want to see this. May we come in?"

The Guardian nodded, and stepped back to allow the partners into his home. His home was just as modest inside as it was outside. The room was dominated by the long staircase leading up to the second floor, and furnished sparsely. There was a comfy mahogany armchair just to the right of the stairs, nestled beside a matching round table. The table was slightly shorter than the arms of the armchair, edged with intricate flower designs and covered with a small tablecloth. It held a small copy of " _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ " and a small white vase filled with yellow chrysanthemums, presumably from the garden out front. Above the armchair was a small shelf, hoisting a small black and white photograph and a delicate tea set. Just beyond that, against the wall beside the archway leading into kitchen, was an old grandfather clock. It stood slightly shorter than the door frame it sat beside, but it immediately drew your gaze nonetheless. It seemed to almost glow, from the gleaming mahogany wood to the gold flicked into the designs to the clock face itself. There were only four numbers on the clock face, showing three, six, nine, and twelve in Roman numerals. Engraved in the bottom right corner of the clock unit was a large turtle. It was displaying the turtle from a bird's eye view, showing off the delicate layers of a shell, giving depth to an otherwise flat design. The legs were folding towards the shell, as if pumping the turtle forwards in the water. Engraved around were small waves radiating outwards, and fading the farther they got away from the creature. It was an amazing work of art, and appeared to be very old; Marinette had never seen anything like it. She could see directly ahead the room that Tikki was healed in, and across the room, beside the staircase, a small half bathroom with the door open ajar.

"What was it that your kwami's wanted me to see?" Fu asked, and came over to stand beside Adrien.

Marinette brought out the book, and turned it so Fu could see it.

The Guardian stared at it, shock clearly etched into his features. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before he stepped towards Marinette and gently took it from her grasp. "I don't believe it..." he whispered. "I thought this book was lost long ago. How did you... Where did you find it?"

Adrien cleared his throat, which caused Fu to tear his gaze from the book to look up at the younger man. "It was in my father's safe. I'm not sure why he had it, but I'd never seen it until yesterday when I saw him put it back in his safe." he glanced towards Marinette, before looking back to the Guardian. "What's in this book, sir? Marinette and I couldn't read it."

"I would assume you could not. There are many languages written here, many ancient letterings." Fu mumbled, as he flipped through the pages. "Come with me." he made his way towards his workroom, pushing the door open to make his way to the mat. He motioned for Marinette and Adrien to sit, so they sat on the edge of the mat, waiting. Fu paced and muttered under his breath, too quietly for Marinette to hear while flipping through the pages of the book.

Finally, he sat down in front of the two teenagers. "So, you said you two had questions for me."

"Yes," Marinette started, glancing over at Adrien. "We wanted to know what was in that book."

"Well, there are many things in this book. For a start, it is the history of the miraculous'. All that has been studied by the Guardians before me on all seven miraculous' is written here."

"Really? So could it tell us how to defeat Hawkmoth?" Adrien asked, twisting his hands together.

"Not in that sense, no. Nothing like this has happened to Nooroo's miraculous before, so there has been nothing written on how to stop the evil it is causing. What's written in here is more like guidelines, what his miraculous can do. As I am sure you are aware, Nooroo's miraculous gives the power of granting others powers at the cost of absolutism. This book explains to me how the wielder goes about doing that, what weapon they receive, how they can use it, and what the miraculous item looks like.

Adrien deflated a bit. "So we still have to figure out a way to defeat Hawkmoth."

Marinette nodded sadly. "We'll figure it out, we always do." she reached out to twine her hand with Adrien's, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Why did you choose us?" Adrien blurted out. "I-I mean... Not that I'm ungrateful, I love being Chat Noir, but... Why us?"

Fu was lost in thought for a moment, before turning to look directly at Marinette. "I chose you because of your actions on your first day of school; you saved a random old man from being hit by a car at the cost of potentially getting hit yourself, losing your baked goods for your classmates, and being late for class. You did the right thing, no matter what the cost was to yourself. Some would find that chaotically good, but you were the perfect choice for the Ladybug miraculous. I still think you are the perfect choice, and your actions over the past months prove that." he turned to gaze at Adrien. "You, on the other hand, have an automatic need to protect others, no matter what that may cost you. You helped an old man to his feet, giving your guardians the chance to corner you out of the school on your first day. You acted without thinking, as a black cat would, putting others before yourself. You were the obvious choice for the Black Cat miraculous, and you prove your best traits every day as Chat Noir."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, peering down at his lap. "I couldn't just watch someone struggling when I could easily take a few steps out of my way to help them..."

Fu rumbled out a laugh, shaking his head at Adrien. "You were across the lot from me, you ran more than a few steps to help me to my feet."

"What about previous miraculous holders?" Marinette asked. "What can you tell us about them?"

"Nothing!" Plagg and Tikki shriek, zooming out of Marinette's purse together. "There's no need to burden yourself with the knowledge of past wielders, Marinette." Tikki exclaimed.

"She's right, kid." Plagg added. "Their lives should be kept private."

Fu nodded, agreeing with the kwami's in front of him. "They're right. There's no need to burden yourselves with the tragedies of their lives. Your own lives are here and now, not in the past."

Adrien grimaced beside Marinette, and glared at his own kwami. "Fine... What about the other miraculous'? You mentioned seven before, sir, and there were more than just ours in that book. What are the other ones?"

"The other five are not as powerful as yours are, and do not work in tandem with each other as yours do. Tikki and Plagg are two halves of a whole, and both need to be active at the same time to work to full potential. The other miraculous' are the Butterfly, the Fox, the Bee, the Turtle, and the Peacock."

Marinette smiled suddenly, and pointed to the bracelet on Fu's wrist. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you are the Turtle miraculous holder?"

Fu smiled softly in return, and fiddled with the green jade bracelet on his wrist. "You are correct. I am the holder of the Turtle miraculous, and hold the title of the Guardian of the miraculous' with my own."

Suddenly, a green kwami zoomed out beside Fu. He had a small antenna protruding from the center of his head, and a small shell on his back.

"Wayzz!" Plagg exclaimed, and shot out to tackle the other kwami. Tikki giggled and followed the other two beings.

"Wayzz, huh?" Marinette asked. "He's so cute!"

Fu nodded, smiling softly at the embracing kwami's. "Wayzz has been my companion for a long time now. It's nice to see him interacting with Tikki and Plagg again."

Adrien sat up a bit straighter, and looked back to the Guardian sitting before him. "Where are all of the inactivated miraculous'?"

"I am in possession of two inactivated miraculous'; the Fox and the Bee. The Peacock miraculous has been lost for some time now, as was the Butterfly until Hawkmoth activated it. I was also in possession of the Ladybug and the Black Cat, before I chose you two to hold them."

"Is there anything we don't know about our own miraculous', that the book could tell us?" Marinette asked quietly, separating her hand from Adrien's.

The Guardian shook his head. "There is always more to learn, but that is something you two should discover for yourselves. Not everything about the miraculous' manifests in every wielder, so if you don't know about it, there's no sense in dwelling on what could be." Fu said, standing up. "That's all I will answer today. I have a client coming soon, but if you have more questions, feel free to come back any time."

Adrien and Marinette stood together, gathered their kwami's, and followed Fu back to the entrance. "Thank you for answering our questions, sir." Adrien said. "Will you be keeping the book?"

Fu nodded, and pulled the book a little tighter to his chest. "I will need a few days to read everything and absorb it, before I give it back to you. Is that fair?"

Adrien nodded, and shoved his hands into his pockets. Marinette thanked Fu for his time, and the teenagers left his home.

"We should be getting back... My parents probably think we are still in my room back home." Marinette said, turning to face her partner. "Should we walk home or throw on our suits?"

Adrien hummed in thought for a second, before linking his arm with Marinette's. "I think I'd like to go for a stroll with my Lady, if she'd be willing." he winked, causing Marinette to blush and nod furiously.

"That would be acceptable, kitty. Come on, you promised you'd stay for dinner. Mom would be very disappointed if we were late!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my gooDNESS DID I EVER HAVE WRITERS BLOCK WRITING THIS CHAPTER!!!!  
> I'm so so so sorry for taking this long to write it... I had the first four lines written the same night that I posted chapter 7, but I kept staring at it and saying "not today...". I had a bit of a tough time designing Fu's house, and used the room we saw in "Origins" as a reference for the colour schemes of his house. I actually ended up drawing a sketch of what I thought the entrance of his house would look like, and am pretty impressed with it...
> 
>  
> 
> Then, I had all four wisdom teeth taken out Thursday morning, which took a lot of my enthusiasm out from sitting in front of my computer for hours on end writing this chapter.
> 
> But!
> 
> The next few days look promising; I think these next chapters will be really fun to write. I plan to have DJWifi soon, along with an akuma attack! [I have to think long and hard on what kind of akuma I'm gonna have... I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and might take longer to post a chapter with an akuma attack].
> 
> So! Adrien and Marinette had some of their questions on miraculous' answered, and Fu has a chance to look back through his predecessor's notes on the miraculous'! Now, Adrien and Marinette get to go back to hang out with her family before he has to leave...


	9. Medusa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette head back to her house for dinner, but are interrupted by an akuma attack! How will they handle this new foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm going to apologize again for taking so long to post the previous chapter. I'm flowing with creative energy as I write this, so I figured I'd better sit and abuse it while it's here.
> 
> I actually drew a sketch of what I thought this akuma would look like so I could describe her well enough for the amount of thought I put into this character. I'm not saying she is the most creative one out there, but I am pretty proud of her. I am fairly sure I have read one in another fic similar to this one, but believe I created her differently enough to not worry about any sort of copyright.

# Medusa 

Marinette and Adrien ambled along the sidewalk, weaving in and out of other pedestrians without unhooking their arms. _It's nice to finally spend some time outside; the weather's been miserable lately._

"What do you plan to do this evening, Adrien? Any plans?" Marinette asked, dragging Adrien from his thoughts.

"No plans for me." Adrien shrugged, shoving his hands further into his pockets. "I'm missing a Chinese lesson right now, so I will probably get a lecture from Nathalie about that, but we had more important things to discuss than conjugating verbs and stringing sentences together." he chuckled, shaking his head. "I have no idea what I would ever use Chinese for, but it makes my father happy, so I'm learning it."

"Well, you helped me a lot when my uncle was down. I don't know any Chinese!" she giggled. "You were a godsend that day, I still haven't really thanked you for all your help. So, thank you!"

Adrien felt himself blushing under her praise. "Oh, it was no trouble, Marinette! It was a lot of fun spending time with you, and practicing my Chinese with your uncle." he gushed. "What about you? Any plans for the evening?"

"Oh, not really. I might try to catch up on our chemistry homework. I've been behind from the recent akuma attacks, and haven't had the time to catch up. We should also try to patrol tonight; we didn't yesterday after Volpina. Are you up for that?"

"Of course!" Adrien nodded enthusiastically. "Any time I get to spend with you is well worth it." he winked down at Marinette, causing her to giggle. "Say, isn't it nicer now that we know each other's identities? We don't have to worry about hiding our plans, or doing patrol alone since we can't contact our partner. Now we have a way to always keep in touch."

"We do! And now I can pop over anytime when you're not where you're supposed to be. I know where you live!" she threatened, shaking her free fist at him.

Adrien burst out laughing at the sight of his shorter friend threatening him. "I know where you live, too, Bugaboo, so you don't scare me!"

Marinette sobered, glaring up at her partner with as much contempt as she could. "I don't scare you, huh?" she grit out. "I should!" she yelled, prodding her fingers into his rib cage.

Adrien jumped away from her, trying to cover his sides from her attacks. "No, no, I'm not ticklish!" he shrieked, while trying not to laugh.

Marinette followed him, trying to jab past his defenses to make him laugh. She then made an attempt on his shoulders, which caused Adrien to laugh and drop like a stone to avoid her fingers.

A scream pierced through the air, causing both teenagers to snap their heads towards the sound. "Seriously?" Adrien gritted out, standing up. "There was an attack yesterday! Can't Hawkmoth give us a break?"

"Guess not." Marinette muttered, searching around the crowded street for somewhere to duck in to transform. "We've gotta get there quick."

"Over here!" Adrien exclaimed. He grabbed Marinette's wrist and tugged her towards a quickly emptying alleyway. Marinette reached down to open her purse to let the kwami's fly out. Tikki and Plagg both flew to their respective chosens, and waited to hear the magic words.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette exclaimed, flipped her hair back, and was immediately bathed in a flash of pink, reappearing as Ladybug moments later.

Adrien stood still, watching his partner transform. "Well?" Ladybug snapped. "Come on, we have to go!"

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien exclaimed, pumping his fist out. He was bathed in a green light, and reappeared as Chat Noir. "Sorry, my Lady." he apologized. "I've always wondered what your transformation was like. I had to see for myself."

"Well you could have chosen a better time to stand back and watch, kitty. Not during an akuma attack!" she pulled her yoyo off her waist, and flung it towards a chimney. Chat Noir extended his staff, and followed Ladybug towards the cause of the shrieks.

The akuma was a tall serpent-like creature, with wild chocolate curls fanning out from her head. She was wearing a pale green strapless dress that faded into a snake's tail, and had matching green scales splattered along her neck, cheeks, and shoulders. She had no nose, and dark green eyes with slits for pupils, just like a snake's. Her dress seemed to billow out behind her when she moved, hiding her tail from front profile.

"I am Medusa!" the akuma screamed, throwing her arms out wide. "And all of Paris will forever be the most beautiful city of statues!"

"Well, I guess we know what her power is." Chat muttered, looking down at the petrified citizens below. "We can't look into her eyes, LB."

"Where do you think her akuma is, Chat?" Ladybug asked, peering down at Medusa's form. "We need to get it away from her as soon as possible, before she turns all of Paris into statues!"

"I can't see anything from here that could be where the akuma is hiding..." he mumbled, and glanced around. "You look for it, I'll distract her." he announced, launching off the roof they were perched on.

"Chat, wait!" Ladybug shrieked, but he was already on the run towards Medusa.

"Hey, snake-lady!" he called out, launching past her and whacked her with his baton. "How about you sssssssslither off?" he goaded, keeping his eyes low.

"I am _not_ 'snake-lady'!" she shrieked, lunging towards him. Chat danced away and whacked her again with his baton. _I hope Ladybug figures out where her akuma is hiding, soon. I don't know how long I can manage looking at her tail without messing up!_

Ladybug threw her yoyo at Medusa, catching her wrist. "Chat!" she called. "Her ring!"

Medusa clenched her hand together, and pulled her wrist back, causing Ladybug to lose her footing. She was tossed forwards, and landed awkwardly at Medusa's feet--well, tail. She quickly jumped back to her feet, retracting her yoyo in the process, and ran towards Chat. She grabbed Chat's wrist and tugged him towards an alley for even a few moment's cover to discuss strategy.

"Her akuma must be in her ring; it's a snake wrapped around her index finger on her left hand. Did you see it?" Ladybug panted out, letting go of Chat's wrist.

"I did." he nodded. "But I couldn't pry it from her hand once she clenched it. Use your lucky charm?" Chat Noir suggested.

Ladybug nodded, and pulled out her yoyo, flinging it in the air, and yelled "Lucky Charm!".

A hand mirror fell into her hands, all but the mirrored surface covered in black spots. "I think I know what to do with this. Cover me?" Ladybug asked, peering around the alley corner for Medusa.

"Of course. You ready?" Chat peered over her head. She nodded, and he darted out in front of her. "Hey, Medusa! Don't you think this is getting a bit reptile-tive? Why don't you say we call it a day?" he yelled, running past her.

Ladybug followed after a moment, shaking her head at her partner's pun. She ran up behind Medusa, poising the mirror in front of her face. "Hey Medusa!" she called.

Medusa turned to face Ladybug, her gaze falling into her own in the mirror. She screamed, and reached up to cover her eyes, but the damage was already done; stone crept up her tail towards her face, immobilizing her.

Chat walked up beside Medusa's still form, and reached towards her still left hand for her ring. The akuma was hidden in a long, silver ring shaped like a snake, that covered the entire proximal section of her index finger. The head nestled around the first knuckle, while the tail sat just on top of her hand. It looked new, but was not of precious metal; more sentiment than anything. He tossed it to Ladybug, who broke it in her hands to release the akuma. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma!" she called, and caught the black butterfly in her yoyo. She released it with a "Bye-bye little butterfly!", before throwing the hand mirror into the sky. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The citizens around them slowly transformed back to bone and flesh, looking very confused about what happened. Chat reached out a fist towards Ladybug to pound, but she didn't return the usual gesture; she pushed past his fist to hug him. Chat stood still for a moment, before returning the gesture. "Everything alright, my Lady?" he whispered, leaning his head down to rest his cheek on the top of her head.

"Yes, sorry... I just..." she released him from her embrace, and took a small step back. "I almost called you by your civilian name so many times..." she whispered, and brought her hand up to pull at one of her pigtails. "I was so worried that I'd screw this up."

Chat stared at her. _Is this why she didn't want us to know each other's identities? Or only because our kwami's told us not to tell anyone?_ "How about we talk about that with less people around?" he whispered back, glancing around at the people waking up around them.

Ladybug nodded, took another step back, and threw her yoyo, launching her into the sky. Chat followed, and they bounded towards Marinette's balcony. As soon as Ladybug's feet touched down on the roof, she de-transformed. Chat followed suit, sighing as he felt his suit disappear, and his clothes from earlier reappear.

Marinette immediately reached down to open the door leading down to her room, and dropped down. Adrien took a moment to look at the roof; there was a comfortable looking chair just to the left of the door, with a small table sitting beside it, and a string filled with colourful bulbs dangling over it. There was a potted plant in the corner, with some honeysuckle and ivy blooming up the railing. _She must really like plants... Maybe I should get her a nice plant sometime._ She had a small book sitting on the table, " _Talon_ " by Julie Kagawa, with a pencil sticking out as a bookmark. She had a second ivy plant sitting on the right side of the door, which was trailing up the brick and circling the chimney.

"Adrien?" Marinette called up. "Are you coming?"

"Yes!" he called back, walking towards the door to pop down into her bedroom. He landed with a bit of a bounce on her bed, and he immediately jumped off to not get any dirt on her bed. Marinette was standing beside her desk, watching Tikki eat a few cookies to restore her energy. She twisted her now loose hair between her fingers, chewing her lip lightly. Adrien padded down the stairs and stopped behind her, putting both hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She stayed quiet, leaning back slightly into his touch. "I just... I didn't think our first akuma attack after we knew each other's identities would be this hard." she whispered, hands stilling in her hair. "I don't mean physically challenging, but... It was hard not to call out your name, your civilian name, when you ran towards the akuma. I think that's what I was worried about the most, and with good reason..."

"Hey." Adrien said quietly, and gently pulled Marinette to face him. "Would it be so bad if I screamed 'Marinette' instead of 'Ladubug'? There's probably more than one Marinette in Paris, and there's definitely more than one 'Adrien', so I don't think anybody would figure us out."

"But what if someone who knows us, like Alya, puts the pieces together? What if Hawkmoth finds out?" she closed her eyes, drooping her head forwards. "What would we do then?"

Adrien sighed, and pulled Marinette to his chest, hugging her close. "We'll figure it out when it comes to that. For now, we just try to keep that from happening, okay?" he felt her nod slightly against his chest, her arms slowly moving to wrap around him in return.

They stood locked in embrace for a few moments, just enjoying each other's presence. Adrien peered around at the rest of Marinette's room. Her desk was still cluttered, and Tikki and Plagg were sitting beside each other on the desk, discussing whatever ancient kwami's discussed. There were some pictures on the wall beside her sleeping monitor, some old pictures of Marinette with her parents, and some newer ones with her and Alya. He noticed there were a few of him, even. _My Lady has pictures of me on her wall?_ Actually, there were more pictures of him from various photoshoots than of her other friends and family...

"Marinette...?" Adrien questioned, still staring at the wall. "What's this?"

Marinette glanced up at Adrien, saw what he was staring at, and shrieked. "Oh my GOD!" she exclaimed, wrenched from his grasp and flew towards the photos, yanking some down. "I... Uhh-these are-- Your father is-- Influencial designer-- Amazing designs..." she stuttered, glancing back. She continued to rip the pictures of Adrien off the wall, and Adrien started to laugh.

Laugh a _lot_. Because there was _no way_ that those photos had anything to do with his father. "I dare say, my Lady, it does look like you have a crush!" he exclaimed between chortles.

His partner stopped her actions to turn and glare at him. "And you're one to talk, Mr.Pun?" she snapped back, putting her hands on her hips. "You probably have Ladybug pajamas."

Adrien immediately stopped laughing to give her a deadpan stare. "And who's to say I don't?" he said, mimicking her movements. "I happen to be very fond of my Ladybug pajamas."

Marinette's eyes widened. "I... I was actually kidding, Adrien. I didn't expect you to have Ladybug pajamas."

"He's very proud of them, Marinette!" Plagg piped up from his spot on her desk. "You should have seen him when he bought them, raving about--"

"Yeah yeah Plagg, way to help a man out." Adrien interrupted, glaring at his kwami.

"You... Actually have a pair?" Marinette giggled, looking up at Adrien. He nodded. "Oh, I've got to see those sometime, you silly cat."

"It would seem we were both pining after one side of the mask, huh?" Adrien said quietly, a faint blush flaring on his cheeks.

"It would seem so." Marinette responded, glancing down at her feet.

_Well, this is important information... She was rejecting Chat-me for Adrien-me. I think Nino was right- she wouldn't say no._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek!!! I think this is my longest chapter yet, due to shenanigans, an akuma attack, and more shenanigans after the akuma attack!
> 
> But, Adrien finally figured out that he has a chance with Marinette!
> 
> ...What will he do with this information? Who knows! But he has to get through a family dinner with her parents... How well will that go? Until next time, my lovelies!


	10. Soft Spoken Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette have dinner with her parents, and her parents try to find out what type of person Adrien is. Adrien and Marinette discuss their views on their partnership, and Alya has a few words to say to her best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek! I had an entire summary of where I wanted this chapter to go all written out, and I actually followed it 110%! So yes, I am posting another chapter less than 24 hours apart, which I am sure makes some of you very happy. I am also starting to write the next chapter right after I post this, so who knows how long it will take to go up! So, I hope you enjoy this.

# Soft Spoken Truths 

"Marinette! Adrien!" Sabine called from the bottom of the stairs. "Dinner is ready!"

Adrien perked up at her words, and Marinette smiled. _This is good, Adrien can finally eat properly._ "Coming, mom!" Marinette called back, stood, and walked over to Adrien. "Ready to head down?"

He nodded enthusiastically, and followed Marinette down the stairs. Sabine was calling down to Tom, who was still in the bakery, that dinner was ready. Marinette grabbed four plates from the cupboard, while Sabine grabbed an extra chair from the closet for Adrien. "What can I do?" Adrien asked from his position on the bottom step.

"Nothing, dear." Sabine replied, smiling over at him. "Just come sit, Tom will be up in a moment, then dinner will be served."

Adrien smiled back at her, and made his way over to their small dining area, and plopped down on the seat Sabine grabbed. Marinette placed plates on the table, while Sabine grabbed cutlery and passed it to her daughter.

Tom came up moments later, with a light dusting of flour on his forehead and hands. He made his way over to the sink to wash up, while Marinette and Sabine worked around him to finish setting the table.

Sabine had prepared delicious looking chicken breasts, cooked to a golden perfection with grated lemon zest resting on top. Baked asparagus, donning olive oil and coarse salt rested on a small tray, sat in the middle of the table for everyone to grab what they wanted. Beside it was a medium pan filled with creamy cheesy potatoes that had a slight bark to them.

"Wow, mom, this looks delicious!" Marinette exclaimed, reaching for the tongs to grab some asparagus. "You haven't made lemon chicken in a while!"

"This looks amazing, Mrs. Cheng." Adrien agreed, waiting for Marinette to be done with the tongs. "I hope this wasn't on my account."

"Nonsense, honey! I enjoyed making it, and I hope you enjoy it." Sabine crooned, glancing over at her husband. "This is one of Tom's favourite meals, and I thought you might like to try it as well."

Marinette passed Adrien the tongs to serve what he wanted, and gently lifted her plate to her mom, who was serving potatoes from her position, as the pan was still hot.

Once everyone was served, Tom looked over to Adrien. "So, son, you and Marinette are classmates, correct?"

Adrien nodded, swallowed a bite of chicken, and groaned lightly at the taste. "This is absolutely amazing, Mrs. Cheng. Thank you again for having me for dinner." he pulled his napkin to his mouth, dabbed at a spot of lemon zest on his cheek, and looked back over to Tom. "Yes, Marinette and I are in the same class. She sits right behind me, and we're often hanging out together. Nino and Alya usually have plans, and they usually both invite us. So we're often hanging out outside of school, which is really nice."

Marinette nodded around her piece of asparagus. "I'm surprised Nino and Alya aren't dating yet, actually, with all the time they're spending together lately."

"Right?!" Adrien exclaimed. "It's either they're too oblivious to notice their feelings for each other, or they haven't told us yet."

Tom and Sabine shared a knowing look with each other, looking at the two teenagers in front of them. "What do you usually do in your free time, Adrien?" Sabine asked, drawing the subject back to him.

"Oh, well, I'm usually modelling my father's designs for photo shoots and such." Adrien said, taking a sip of water. "It's actually been pretty quiet the last few weeks, so I've been playing Metcha Strike to match Marinette's game," Tom snorted at his comment. "and... Working out." Adrien said, with a side glance to Marinette.

"You'll never meet Marinette's Metcha Strike level." Tom sighed, shaking his head. "She's too good, after many losses I have come to this conclusion."

"You play Metcha Strike too, sir?" The blonde asked, looking over to the larger man. "That's awesome! I wish my dad would take the time. It's a really fun game!"

Marinette giggled, looking over at the two guys. "You two should battle to see who's the better of the two, sometime. Not like either of you could beat me!" she boasted. "It's not like you two have before." They both grumbled their affirmations.

"Marinette, I noticed you haven't started any new projects lately. Do you have anything in mind?" Sabine piped up.

"Oh! Actually, I do have something I planned to start working on after dinner." she wiggled in her seat, and peeked over at Adrien. "You always see so much merchandise for Ladybug, but never anything for Chat Noir. So I'm thinking of making myself a pair of Chat Noir pajamas."

Adrien nearly choked on his water, coughing. Tom thumped him on the back, and Adrien's face was really red. _Most likely not from his water going down the wrong pipe, too, I should hope!_ "That's a good idea, Marinette." Adrien said softly, once his windpipe was clear of fluid. "You're right, there's so much more for Ladybug, but she deserves it more than Chat does. He's just a sidekick, Ladybug doesn't need him."

Marinette gasped, and eyed her partner dubiously. _Is that really what he thinks, that I don't need him???_ "I don't think that's true! Ladybug and Chat Noir are a team, and they both work together to defeat the akumas. I don't think Ladybug would be able to do what she does without Chat."

Once everyone had finished eating, Marinette and Sabine stood to clear the table. Adrien and Tom hung back awkwardly, trying to stay out of the way.

"Marinette, don't worry about it. Tonight your father and I will clean up. Feel free to go on up with Adrien." Sabine said, gently pushing her daughter towards the stairs.

"Are you sure?" Adrien asked from his position beside Tom. "I don't mind helping, ma'am."

"No no, son." Tom replied, placed his hand on Adrien shoulder, and lead him towards Marinette. "We've got this. Don't worry!"

"Alright, thanks mom, dad!" Marinette huffed, and ran upstairs. Adrien followed closely behind, and Marinette shut her bedroom door behind him. She then launched herself at her chaise, towards her phone to scroll through her messages.

"Your mom is a great cook. I'm really glad she let me stay here for dinner." Adrien said softly, moving to sit on Marinette's desk chair.

"Let me guess... It's more than you would have eaten at home, right?" she replied, tearing her gaze from her phone screen to look at him. He ducked his head in response. "Well, let me be the first to tell you are always welcome here, chaton. Any time, there's always plenty of snacks here."

"Thanks, my Lady. You know the way to this alley cat's heart." he threw a half-hearted wink at her, and twisted back and forth in her desk chair. His gaze caught on something on her wall, but he turned back to face her before she could ask about it. "Did you mean what you said at the dinner table?" he whispered.

"What part, chaton?"

"The part about Ladybug needing Chat Noir."

Marinette stared at him. He was fidgeting slightly under her gaze, not looking her in the eye. _That won't do._ Marinette stood up, and stalked towards him, kneeling in front of him so he'd meet her gaze. "Of course I did. I meant every word of it. I need you by my side, you've been my rock the entire time we've been fighting for Paris." she took a deep breath. "Do you remember what you said to me, when I didn't cleanse Stoneheart's akuma the first time?"

Adrien shook his head lightly, staring at her in slight confusion. "Well," Marinette continued. "You told me that we would prove to all of Paris that they needed us. And you were right." she smiled up at him. "I was **so** ready to quit that day. I had even tried to give Tikki to Alya because I didn't think I could do this. But when I saw people in danger, I knew I couldn't stand by and watch. You've been here, the entire time, supporting me, even when I've been at my lowest. So don't you _ever think for a second_ that I don't need you. I will always need you to be my partner, kitty."

He sat still, shocked, for a few moments, gaping at her. All of a sudden he threw his arms around her, buring his face in the crook of her neck. Marinette automatically returned the gesture, and ran her hand through the long locks at the back of his head. "I never really thought much about that day." he whispered, gripping her a little tighter. "I always thought that you could do this without me, that I was just someone who happened to have powers like you do. I never thought you actually relied on me."

"Of course I do. We're a team, aren't we?"

Adrien smiled against her neck. "Always."

A phone buzzed in the background, pulling the teens from their embrace. "Ugh..." Marinette grumbled, stumbling back to her chaise to grab her vibrating phone. "It's Alya. I'd better answer it now, rather than fear her wrath later." she muttered, typing out a response.

"I'd better go, actually." he said, standing. "I'm surprised Nathalie has let it go this long, not knowing where I am. Plus, I promised Nino I'd give him a call when I got home. He probably didn't expect me to be here this long." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh." Marinette replied, putting her phone back down. "Alright. Well, I'm really glad you were able to stay. My mom was probably really happy to feed you, too. Will I see you for patrol in a few hours?"

"Of course, my Lady. Can't resist another opportunity to feast my eyes on my beautiful partner, now can I?" he chuckled, winking at her. "10pm?"

"10pm." she confirmed, blushing. "See you then!"

Adrien grabbed Plagg, and let himself out. Marinette heard Adrien wishing her parents a good night, and thanking them again for dinner. She couldn't quite catch her parent's muffled reply, but wasn't really paying attention. Alya was on a roll right now.

**Gurl! I've been waiting long enough; what happened this morning in the library? What happened today after school?**

Marinette typed out her reply, flinging herself back onto her chaise. **He asked me to hang out before class, so I said yes! And then today, I had a book of his, so I returned it to him since I forgot to bring it to school.** _It was a half truth... But Alya didn't need to know all of those details._

**Gurl, NO WAY!!! He asked you to hang with him?? And you said actual sentences around him? What gives???**

_Other than finding out that he's my heroic partner who I've been rejecting for months now for his civilian self? Not much._ **I dunno! We talked yesterday after the akuma attack, and it just sorta... Happened??**

**THERES NO WAY THAT JUST HAPPENED IM CALLING U**

Marinette groaned, flung her arm across her face, and waited for Alya's call. She immediately answered, and held her phone away from her ear to avoid Alya's screeching.

**"MARINETTE DUPAIN CHENG YOU NEED TO SPILL RIGHT NOW WHATS HAPPENING WITH YOU AND MR.DREAMBOAT?!?!"**

"Breathe, Alya, we're just friends! Friends that, you know, hang out?" she giggled at her friend's enthusiasm. _I do understand where she's coming from, though. Three days ago I was stuttering around him, and now we've hung out, like, all day._

"Gurl if it were anybody else I wouldn't think anything of it. But since it's you, I'm _obviously_ invested. Tell me everything!!!"

"There's not much more to say! We hung out, talked, he stayed for dinner... Nothing that unusual!" Marinette whined, not wanting to be quizzed by her best friend.

"He stayed for dinner??? Wait, so he, like, just left?"

"Uhm, yes?" Marinette squeaked out, knowing exactly what her friend's reaction was going to be.

**"YOU'VE BEEN HANGING OUT WITH HIM ALL DAY AND THINGS HAVEN'T GOTTEN AWKWARD?!?!"**

"Uhh, no? Things never got awkward, at least, I don't think they did..."

"I am so proud of you, Marinette!" Alya gushed into the phone. "Do you think Adrien's finally starting to see how amazing you are?"

"...Yeah, I uh... I think he is." she whispered. "I don't want to screw this up, Alya. I really want things to work between us, since I really think he could like me."

"I am so happy for you!!! But I can't believe you waited this long to tell me."

"Well, he literally just walked out the door, Alya. Give me some credit, you're the first person I've told. And by the way, what's been up with you and Nino lately?"

Alya gasped over the line. "No way girl, this is about you and Adrien. But since that's all the questions I have for now... I guess I can talk to you about Nino. We've been getting a lot closer lately, and..."

Marinette flung her arm off her eyes, sitting up abruptly. **"Did he ask you out?"**

Alya was quiet on the other end. Finally she muttered "Yes."

 **"OH MY GOSH ADRIEN TOTALLY CALLED THIS YOU WERE HOLDING OUT ON ME WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!"**

"Uhh, yesterday? We're going out to the movies together on Friday." Alya hummed into the phone. "I'm actually really excited, and I'm totally going to need your fashion advice for the date. Will you help me?"

"Of course!! What are friends for? I'm so happy for you!!" _I'd better call Adrien after this, I think he'll want to know. Oh wait, he was going to call Nino anyways. I'm sure Nino will tell him. If not, I can always tell him on patrol tonight._ "Alright, I'd better go, but I expect all the details tomorrow!"

"And your details, girlie! We'll both share. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow." Marinette agreed, and clicked end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was fun! Alya and Marinette freaking out together about boys! [This is actually a conversation I had with my own best friend not too long ago, and he and I were both boasting about boys... So this makes me super happy.]
> 
> Next, I plan to have Adrien's mental freak out about something he saw on Marinette's wall... What did he see? Only time will tell, and we'll see if Nino spills the beans about Alya or not. I really wanted DJWifi so maybe the kiddos can go on a double date. Plus, DJWifi is just amazing in general and I love writing about Nino.
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be posted tomorrow, or by the latest Monday. I have a good portion of Chapter 11 planned out, so it shouldn't take too long to write up. As always, feel free to leave comments/kudos my lovelies, I love to hear what you think of my tale!


	11. Part of Your World?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien calls Nino on his way home from Marinette's to talk about girls.
> 
> Nino confesses about asking Alya out on a date [which Adrien obviously supports because of reasONS], and Nino gives Adrien advice on Marinette. [Does Adrien listen to the advice?]
> 
> Also, what did Adrien see on Marinette's wall that has him questioning existence?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am such a slut for Disney quotes, so if you catch my quote in here, I applaud you. [It's not an exact quote, but it's so close that most of you will get the idea...]
> 
> So, this chapter Adrien digs deep into himself to figure out what to do with Marinette. Does he come to a decision?

# Part of Your World? 

Adrien pushed open the side door of the bakery, leading out to the street, dialing Nino's number. _I really need advice... Nino will know what to do._

Nino picked up on the fourth ring. "Finally, man! I thought you were supposed to call me when you got home!"

"Uhh, I'm not actually home yet, Nino. I'm walking home now." Adrien replied, shoving his free hand in his pocket.

"What? Dude, you're _just_ leaving Marinette's house? What'd you do, stay for dinner or something?"

"Uhh, yeah, that's exactly what I did." Adrien muttered out.

"Woah... It's no wonder Alya was freaking out! She thought Marinette was avoiding her or something, we didn't actually think you'd be there this long!"

"Wait... Are you with Alya? Like, right now?"

"What? Pfft, no man..." Nino grumbled out. "She... Left a few minutes ago, maybe half an hour?"

Adrien felt his jaw drop. _He had the audacity to accuse me of being with Marinette for this long, when he and Alya were hanging out too???_ "Nino, not cool. What are you hiding from me?"

Nino was quiet on his end of the line for a few moments, before muttering something out that sounded like "date" and "Friday".

**"What?! You and Alya are going out for a date on Friday?!"**

"Dude!" Nino hissed into the phone. "What'd you do, announce it to all of Paris?"

"Maybe I did. Maybe I should, since you kept this from me! When'd you ask her???"

"Yesterday, at lunch. You and Marinette had split, so it just sort of... Came out."

Adrien shook his head, even though Nino couldn't see it. "That's not the sort of thing that just 'comes out', Nino! How'd you do it?"

"...Why do you want to know, man?" Nino questioned, suspicion clearly laced in his voice.

"Uhh, no reason. Just curious!"

"That's not just curiosity, man! Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

Adrien snickered, despite himself. "And satisfaction brought it back. What's your point?" he asked, just entering the Agreste mansion.

"You're gonna ask out Marinette, right? And knowing you, you want to make it perfect." Nino chuckled. "Don't lie to me!" he cut in, before Adrien could object.

"Fine." Adrien sighed. "You're right. I do want to ask her out. She's amazing, man. She's just so confident, funny, full of life... She's got eyes that just... And her hair?" he sighed, leaning back against the fence separating the mansion grounds from the street. "How do I even ask her out, man? What would be good enough for Marinette?"

Nino sighed on the other end. "Dude, just be yourself. She already likes you, so anything you do would make her happy. Just don't hurt her, because I'm pretty sure Alya would kill you, and I don't think I'd be able to save you."

Adrien barked out a laugh. "I don't plan to hurt her, Nino, but thanks for the warning. I don't doubt that Alya would hesitate to kill me for a second. But I just got home, so we'll talk tomorrow? I need to hear all about what happened with Alya, dude."

"Same for you and Marinette, man! You guys hung out, like, all day. I'm sure Alya's grilling Marinette about it now. Alright, bye."

Adrien clicked 'end', and slowly made his way up towards the mansion. _I wonder what Nathalie will have to say about skipping Chinese, and dinner. Hopefully it's nothing too long, since Marinette wants to meet for patrol in a few hours._

Adrien opened the doors to the mansion to find Nathalie waiting for him. "Adrien." she chastised. "If you have plans after school, please let me know ahead of time so I can alter your schedule." she tapped a few times on her tablet, probably altering his schedule as they spoke.

"Yes, of course, Nathalie. I'm sorry, I should have called you. It wasn't planned."

Nathalie nodded slightly, peering up at him over her glasses. "You have eaten, I assume?"

Adrien ducked his head, nodding slightly. Nathalie chewed her lip, and tapped something else onto her tablet. "Alright, I know the Dupain-Cheng's probably fed you well, so we won't tell your father. But please, just try to let me know in the future, and try not to eat there all the time. Or else your father will have to know about it."

Adrien snapped his head up to stare at Nathalie. _She really does care about me._ "Alright, thank you Nathalie. I promise." he said, smiling softly.

She nodded curtly, and glanced down at her tablet again. "Since you missed your Chinese lesson today, your lesson tomorrow will include what you missed today, and tomorrow's content." Nathalie's stylus stilled on the surface. "Do you have any plans with Ms. Dupain-Cheng tomorrow?" she said slowly.

Adrien shook his head. Nathalie nodded and turned away. "Nathalie?" he called. "But I... I would like Friday evening free, if I could."

Nathalie turned back to him. "Might I ask what for?"

Adrien felt himself flush under her gaze. "I, uh... Plan to... Ask Marinette out on a date. Could it fit into my schedule?"

Nathalie smiled softly at him, then turned her gaze back down to his schedule. "I think I can make that work." she said, turned on her heel, and walked back to her office.

Adrien grinned like a fool all the way back up to his room, and threw his bag down onto the floor by his desk. He fished his phone out of his pocket, and dialed Marinette's number.

She picked up on the second ring. "Miss me already, kitten?" she chuckled.

Adrien laughed, shaking his head at her. "Always, my Lady. But I have news, and I'm sure Alya told you."

She gasped. "Did Nino tell you that he asked her out on a date???"

"He did!" he spun in his desk chair, closing his eyes. "I never thought he'd do it!"

"You were right, you know." Marinette sighed from her end. "They were holding out on us!"

"I know! I was so a-paw-lled, since Nino had the audacity to tease me for hanging out with you all day."

Marinette groaned. "So now I have to put up with your puns _all the time_?"

He gasped at her words. "My puns are the cat's meow, my Lady! You should be proud of this kitten."

"Sure, sure..." she grumbled. "But hey, my parents are going to bed early, since they have a huge order to start on in the bakery tomorrow, so should we head out for patrol an hour earlier?"

Adrien glanced at his clock; it showed 7:21pm. "Sure, I can meet you at our usual spot at 9pm. I'll see you then?"

"See you then." she replied, and the line died.

Adrien clicked his phone off, put it on his desk, and turned to face his computer. He shook the mouse to bring his desktop to life, showing the Ladyblog. There were no new notifications for attacks, only a post on the history of black cats and bad luck.

Plagg suddenly zoomed up beside him, chuckling as he read Alya's post on black cats. "It was all because of me, you know. In the twelfth century, how people became suspicious of black cats. I had a little too much fun with my chosen of the time."

Adrien eyed his kwami dubiously. "What'd you do, Plagg?"

The little being took a bite of cheese, shaking his head a bit. "They didn't call it the 'Black Plague' for nothing, kid." he said ominously, before zooming back to wherever he was relaxing earlier.

Adrien shook his head, muttering about "stupidity" and "payback". He clicked out of the Ladyblog, stood up, and made his way over to his bed. He flopped down on his back, staring up at the ceiling above him. _I had no idea Marinette had that..._

_She had the poem I wrote to Ladybug last Valentine's day. But I threw it away! I didn't know that Ladybug went to my school, let alone that I knew her in real life at the time. I've always wondered how Ladybug could have replied to my poem, but Marinette probably saw me writing it... How did she know who it was for?_

> Your hair is dark as night, your pretty bluebell eyes.
> 
> I wonder who you are, beneath that strong disguise.
> 
> Every day we see each other, and I hope that you'll be mine.
> 
> Together our love could be so true, please, will you be my Valentine?

_Well, my words were pretty specific... Not many girls have bluebell eyes, or a strong disguise. She must have known it was for Ladybug, but since she's Ladybug... She must have known it was for her. And then she responded to my poem!_

Adrien jumped up suddenly, and ran over to his desk, where the poem was tacked up to his wall.

> Your hair shines like the sun, your eyes are gorgeous green.
> 
> I look at you and wonder you innermost thoughts and dreams.
> 
> Yes, your Valentine I will be, our love will be so true.
> 
> Together for eternity, my heart belongs to you.

_It's Marinette's handwriting. How did I not see this sooner??? Then again, Ladybug's been sitting behind me all year and I never knew it, so it's not surprising I never associated Marinette and Ladybug to have the same handwriting._

Adrien turned to face the windows. "Plagg, what do I do?" he said, generally, into the room.

Plagg zoomed up from his hiding spot on the Foosball table. "Well, you know she likes you. So, ask her out!"

Adrien groaned, and rubbed his hands over his eyes. "I know, but what would be good enough for Marinette? I can't just... Come out with it! It needs to be perfect, Plagg!"

The kwami sighed, and made his way over to Adrien, hovering in front of him. "I don't think that's the case, Adrien. She likes you for you. And since she likes you, it won't matter if you ask her at midnight on a rooftop, or tomorrow morning all dressed up presenting her with flowers. As long as you're the one asking her out on a date, I don't think she'll care, kid. Just... Be yourself!"

Adrien lifted his hands from his eyes, and looked at his kwami. "Do you really think so?" Plagg nodded. "Then you think that I'm overthinking this?" Plagg nodded again, smirking slightly at his chosen. "Fine, I'll... Find the perfect opportunity to ask her, then. That will ease my mind a bit, I think."

"But will it?" Plagg questioned, twisting one of his whiskers in his paw, lost in thought. "What can ever be considered 'the perfect opportunity'? It could pass you by, and you won't even know it. Just ask her!" he exclaimed.

 _He's right... What if I miss the perfect opportunity?_ "So, you're saying... Make the moment perfect with my actions?"

Plagg shrugged, and turned back to the couch. "Sure, kid. Take from that what you will. Just stop pestering me about it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Adrien saw that it was his poem to Ladybug that Marinette had from last Valentine's day. He tries to figure out why she has it, and realizes that they both do really like each other. So, will Adrien ask her out on a date?
> 
> Next chapter, the kiddos go on patrol together, an hour earlier. What will happen? Stay tuned!


	12. Patrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kiddos go out on patrol [not really doing a whole lot of patrolling...] and just talk, to try to get to know one another better in and out of suits. Does Adrien finally ask Marinette out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Chat and Ladybug basically just sit around and talk. For most of the previous chapters, I have stuck to something similar to where I think the creators would go. But with this chapter, I've definitely had to stray away from that. We don't know nearly enough about the characters in the series, so I've had to turn to my own thoughts on what these two would like.
> 
> I ended up basing their favourite memories off of my own memories. Marinette's is almost the same as one of my own, but with my grandma and making cookies out of pie dough [amazing, btw]. Meanwhile Adrien's is based on a TY brand stuffed animal horse, named "Lightning" [I wasn't creative with names and the name stuck]. If you're interested in what the animal looks like, look it up [here](http://geb.ebay.com/geb/ImportHubViewItem?itemid=261438300577).

# Patrol 

Quarter to nine, Marinette opened the door leading to her balcony to transform. With a "Tikki, Spots on!" she was Ladybug. She jumped up onto her balcony, and threw her yoyo into the distance to head to their meeting place; the top of Notre Dame. Once there, she landed on the highest gargoyle that faced the direction of Adrien's house, so she could see when he was coming. She sat down, leaning back against the wall, and tied her yoyo back to her waist, waiting.

Five minutes later, she saw Chat Noir bounding towards her, his grin visible from where she sat. He landed on the roof a few feet above her, grinning down at her. "Waiting long, LB?"

She shook her head, standing up. "Only five minutes or so, kitten. Ready to head out?" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

He offered his hand out to her. She took it, and was lifted up to the roof to stand beside him. "Well, we have a pretty good view from here, why don't we just sit here for a while?" he questioned, stepping back a bit. "We would be able to see everything, if an akuma were to arise. So how about we just... Talk?"

Ladybug nodded, and followed him towards the center of their section of roof. "Alright, Chat. What do you want to talk about?"

Chat rubbed the back of his neck, looking very Adrien-like. _That's because they're the same person, Marinette. Focus!_ "Well, I thought we could get to know each other better. We never talked much during akuma attacks, and we talked even less at school, so..."

Ladybug smiled softly at him. "That sounds like a good idea. What do you want to know?"

He chuckled a bit, shaking his head at her. "Everything? But I think that's a little too daunting all at once. So let's start simple; what's your favourite colour?"

"Obviously pink. I thought that you would be able to tell by my room, silly kitty." she giggled. "What's yours?"

Chat thought about it for a second, rubbing his hands together slightly. "...Blue." he whispered. Then he nodded, and met her gaze again. "Definitely blue."

"What about hobbies and pastimes?" Ladybug questioned, sitting down on the roof. "What do you enjoy doing outside of school?"

Chat sat down stiffly beside her, eyes wide. "What do you mean? I like school."

"Alright, well other than school. What do you do that you enjoy?"

"I... I don't know. I mean, I don't really consider this," he gestured vaguely between the two of them. "to be a hobby, although I do love being Chat Noir. I don't really have any hobbies."

Ladybug stared at him. "But you play piano, you can speak Chinese, you compete in fencing competitions... None of those are your hobbies?"

Chat shook his head softly, clicking his claws against his knee. "Those... Those are all things that my father wanted me to do, so I do. I'm learning Chinese at his request. I fence, play piano, basketball... All things he wants me to do. There's nothing that I do just because I want to, other than be Chat Noir." he shrugged slightly, looking down at his hands. "I don't think I'd be good at anything."

"That's not true, Adrien." she said, reaching out to grasp the hand tapping his knee. "There's probably something you enjoy doing, and are good at, but just don't know it yet. Doesn't mean you aren't good at anything, just means that you haven't discovered it yet."

He smiled slightly, and brought his gaze back up to hers. "And you? What do you enjoy doing?"

"Well, I love designing. I really want to work under a big designer one day, like your father. And maybe, if I'm good enough, have my own line. But I also love baking, sketching, and video games." Ladybug squeezed his hand slightly. "Something your father doesn't dictate is your love for video games. That could be a hobby."

Chat smiled widely, and nodded. "You're right! He doesn't dictate that, for which I am thankful for. I can't imagine my life without _The Legend of Zelda_ series. Have you played any of them?"

She shook her head, giggling slightly at his sudden eagerness. "I can't say I have, but I've definitely heard of them. I'm familiar with Link and Zelda, but never had the time to play one all the way through. I know my papa has a copy of _Link's Awakening_ , but I've never played it."

His eyes widened. "Tom has a copy of that?? Man, I need to ask your dad about borrowing it some time, I would love to play it. My favourite game is _Majora's Mask_. I should lend it to you sometime, it's a really fun game!"

"Sure, I would love to play it!" she exclaimed, enthralled at his enthusiasm. "See, kitten, you have a passion for something."

He smirked. "I guess I do. Alright, favourite food?"

The bluenette hummed, thinking. "My favourite food has to be... Popcorn. If I could comfortably live off of it, I would. What's yours?"

"Gummy bears." he responded immediately. "I never get them, but when I do, I eat all the green ones first."

She made a face at him. "The green ones? Ew. Next time I get gummy bears, I'm saving all the green ones for you."

He gasped at her, playful shock splashed onto his features. "How can you hate the green ones? That's like hating cotton candy!"

She squirmed under his gaze, blushing slightly. His face fell. "Don't tell me you don't like cotton candy." he said seriously.

"You can almost feel your teeth rotting away!" she exclaimed, retracting her hand from his to hold her hands up defensively. "How can someone enjoy anything that tastes that sweet?"

"That's the point, you heathen!" he shrieked. "It's meant to be super sugary and full of goodness, that's what makes cotton candy _cotton candy_!!!" Chat fell back against the roof, throwing his arm over his eyes. "I can't even look at you, knowing what I know now. You disgust me, my Lady."

Ladybug sighed, and shifted to lay down beside him. "Only you would find that bad, kitten, and make a big deal of it." she giggled.

Suddenly, Ladybug murmured a soft "Spots off" and reappeared beside Chat as Marinette.

"What are you doing, my Lady?" Chat whispered, arm still covering his eyes. "Aren't you worried someone will see Marinette sitting on a rooftop with Chat Noir and ask questions?"

Marinette scoffed. "Like anyone can see us up here. I thought it would be nice just to be our normal selves, that's all."

Chat whispered a soft "Claws in", before Adrien lifted his arm to peer over at his friend. "That's a good idea."

Tikki squealed in delight at seeing Plagg again, before they both zoomed off to leave their chosens alone for a little while.

"Do you have a favourite memory, princess?"

Marinette turned her head to face the sky. She chewed on her lip for a moment. "I think my favourite memory is when Papa and I made our first batch of cookies together. I think I was four or five, and Mama had my hair up in a high pony to limit the amount of dough in my hair. Papa and I had matching aprons on. He let me beat the batter, helped me roll them out, and let me pick the shapes they were in. He even let me decorate them, after, in whatever flavour I wanted. I chose buttercream icing, and I remember I got it everywhere." she smiled at the thought. "They were the best cookies I'd ever had, and it was my first baking experience with Papa. He kept encouraging me whenever I struggled with something, and made a big production of complimenting my cookie decorating skills." she sighed at the thought.

Adrien smiled, chuckling softly at her tale. "That sounds amazing, my Lady. You must have been adorable with your high pony, probably covered in buttercream icing."

"I practically was. I got it everywhere! But it was so much fun." she turned back to face him. "What about you? What's your favourite memory?"

Adrien thought for a moment. "I think I was around the same age, playing in the backyard with a new stuffed animal. It was my white horse, which I had named Lightning at my mom's request. My mom was with me, and she was telling me the story of her own horse Lightning, when she was younger. I don't remember how the story went, but I couldn't stop listening to how she told the story. She was so expressive with her body language, and I just loved spending time with her. Father was busy, even back then, but she always made time to just be with me." he looked back towards Marinette. "I know it's not as amazing as your memory, but... It's one of the last good memories I have of my mom before she disappeared. My parents... They fought a lot before she disappeared. Some of it was over me, but sometimes it seemed like they just argued to argue."

"What happened to your mom, Adrien?" Marinette asked, turning on her side to really face him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm curious."

Adrien sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "I wish I knew. Father's always been tight lipped about it. I had dinner with her the night before, from one of my favourite restaurants in town, and the next morning she was just... Gone." he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I know what you're going to ask; if she left my father. And I don't think she did. I would have heard from her, at least once. But it's been years now, and she's just... Gone." he opened his eyes to look at his partner again. "I wish I could tell you more, but... It's been years since I've seen her, and I don't even understand it myself."

Marinette suddenly shifted closer to Adrien, and wrapped her arms around him as best she could from their position. He immediately wrapped his arms around her in turn, pulling her a little closer yet to him, so she could lay her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat pounding softly in his chest, and she sighed. _I can see why people call this calming; it's very therapeutic to listen to someone else's heart beat at a different time than your own._

"What's something you want to do one day, Adrien?" Marinette whispered, shifting her head slightly on his chest. "Is there something you want to do in the future?"

"You mean like a bucket list, but... More than that?"

She nodded lightly. "For example, I want to travel to New York during Fashion Week one year. Maybe not with my own designs, but I would love to see everyone else's. You know what I mean?"

He hummed in agreement. "Well... You're probably going to laugh at me, but I really want to go to university. I have no idea what I would want to study, maybe something in physics or even something like astronomy, but I really want to go learn more. Learn a bit of everything, so when I get a Bachelor's degree or even a Specialization, it's something that my father can't hold over me; it's something I earned."

"That's not crazy, Adrien. That's a really amazing thing. You're right, that's something you earned and that nobody could ever take away from you. I don't think that's laughable, I think that's really smart of you."

Adrien blushed at her words. "Thanks, Marinette. I'm sure my father would disagree with you, and say something along the lines of 'everything you need is already laid out for you', but I'm really glad you think that." he rubbed his hands in circles along her back absentmindedly. "Here's a simple one; who's your favourite music artist?"

"Jagged Stone, for sure!" she exclaimed. "And I'm pretty sure we both agree on that one."

She felt him nod beneath her. They sat quietly for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company in the quiet Parisian atmosphere.

Suddenly, Adrien blurted out "Do you want to go out on a date with me, Mari?"

She snapped her head up towards his, searching his face. He was blushing, and looked down at her expectantly. _Adrien-Freaking-Agreste is asking me out on a **date**?!?!_ "Uhh-Wha-buhh...Me?" she stuttered out.

A Chat-like smirk suddenly replaced his bashful look from moments before. "What is it, my Lady? Cat got your tongue?"

She gave him the most deadpan stare she could while flushing like a fool. "What I meant to say was 'when, kitty cat?'"

He leaned his head back, thinking for a moment, before meeting her gaze again. "Friday evening? Dinner?"

"It's a date." _Oh my god oh mon dieu I'm going on a date with Adrien on Friday!!!_

_Marinette.exe has stopped working._

"Sounds fantastic, my Lady." Adrien whispered. He moved to sit up, and Marinette shifted away from him so he could. He stood quietly, and lowered his hand down to help Marinette up. "It's getting late, huh? We should be heading home."

Marinette nodded, and grabbed his outstretched hand, and was pulled to her feet. _I'm only holding his hand because he's warm..._ "You're right. I'll see you in the morning?"

Adrien nodded, and pulled Marinette in for a hug. She looped her arms around his neck, breathing in his sent of fresh laundry detergent, his earthy cologne, and leather. _Hugging Adrien should be illegal; he smells amazing._ She felt him press his lips down lightly in her hair, before he released her and backed up a step. She reluctantly let go, before turning to look for Tikki.

Tikki and Plagg, still giggling softly to themselves, stopped just before their respective chosens. Adrien uttered "Claws out", and was bathed in green light, returning as Chat Noir. He smirked at her. She looked away, back at Tikki, and said "Spots on". She felt the magical spandex replace her day clothes, and rolled her shoulders in practiced ease. "Until tomorrow, alley cat."

"Until tomorrow, princess." he replied, grabbed his staff, and threw himself off Notre Dame, back towards his house. Ladybug rolled her eyes at him, and turned towards her own house. She threw her yoyo, and launched through the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I have this headcannon that Adrien would ~love~ the Legend of Zelda series, and none of you can sway me from that. [It's also my own favourite video game series, so there's that...] But I think Adrien would relate the most to Majora's Mask Link, due to the fact that he's venturing into new territory, where things seem the same as what he knows but is actually a totally different world. Link left everything he knew behind to find Navi, and Adrien is also sort of doing that in a sense; he's stepping out of his comfort zone at every turn to get to know Marinette/Ladybug better, and is finding new parts of himself along the way. [One could also look at the obvious connection to masks, and how Adrien has to wear a mask when he's at home... Both are good.]
> 
> Also, I have no idea how the educational system works in France. I'm Canadian, and I based my knowledge of specializations and bachelors degrees off of what I know. [I'm personally going for my BA starting in September] So yes, my information is probably wrong on that in France's regards. But for the small part it has in this story, I wasn't going to research into it. If someone knows, feel free to let me know and I can add it.


	13. Once the Dust Settles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino hear about Mari and Adrien's date, and obviously they FREAK. Cue Chloe being her obnoxious self, and Lila being sneaky like her akumatized-self. How will Marinette handle it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I've been lucky enough to have a good new friend of mine, Maribell [@mardimari](http://mardimari.tumblr.com/) edit and leave her thoughts on my work-in-progress chapters! So a good portion of the kudos goes to her for this chapter, go like her up!

# Once the Dust Settles 

As soon as Adrien stepped out of his car at school, he was ambushed by Nino, pestering him with questions about Marinette.

“Dude! So how was it? You spent like, _all day_ with Marinette, man. What’d you do all day? You didn’t run out of topics to talk about?” Nino blurted, not giving Adrien any time to answer between questions.

“Woah, Nino, breathe! It was pretty awesome, spending all day with Marinette.” he sighed, smiling. “We just.. Talked, a lot. About ourselves, hobbies, likes, dislikes, the usual? There’s so much to talk about, how could we run out of topics?” Adrien shook his head, clasping his best friend’s shoulder. “But enough about Mari and I; you need to spill about what happened with Alya!”

Nino flushed under his friend’s directness, and shifted his glasses on his face. “I totally didn’t think she’d say yes! We’ve been hanging out a lot since Ladybug locked us in that cage together, and we have a ton in common! And I dunno, I remembered that she said she wanted to see _Captain America: Civil War_ when it came out, and now that’s it out… I thought we could go together.”

“That’s great, Nino! I’m so happy she said yes. Mari and I were actually talking about that yesterday, how you two were totally ditching us to hang out. We were wondering when you were gonna ask her out!” Adrien grinned, bumping his friend’s shoulder playfully.

“Apparently sooner than you two thought! Speaking of asking people out... When are you gonna ask Marinette out, dude? I’m sure she’d say yes.”

“Actually…” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I… Already asked her.”

Nino stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his best friend. “No. **Way**!!!” he shrieked, causing some of their nearby classmates to stare at them in confusion. “Why didn’t you say something?!”

Adrien hushed his friend, and stepped towards him. “I was gonna!” he whispered. “But I wanted to hear about you and Alya first!”

“So what are you and Marinette doing? Movies, arcade, dinner?” Nino questioned.

“I, uh… Got us dinner reservations to _Le Domaine Saphire_?” Adrien mumbled, looking down at his hands.

“Woah, dude.” Nino whistled. “She’s gonna love that. I’m actually kinda jealous.”

“And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you, Nino!” Adrien exclaimed. “I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to one-up you or something, I just…”

“Wanted to impress Marinette, right?” Nino cut in. “I get it, man! Don’t worry about it. Maybe one time we could do a double date somewhere fancy like that.”

Adrien smiled gratefully at his best friend, and peered up into the school. Class would be starting soon, so he and Nino made their way up the steps into the school.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Marinette ran across the street towards the school, frantically glancing around for her best friend. She spotted Alya at the base of the steps, looking down at her phone. She stopped beside her, panting.

“Gurl, you’re actually a few minutes early? What gives?” Alya chuckled, peering over at her tardy best friend.

Marinette straightened up, and pushed stray hairs away from her face. “I wanted to hear about you and Nino before class!”

Alya laughed, shaking her head at the bluenette beside her. “You came early for me?” she swooned dramatically. “Oh, how sweet of you!”

“Stop it!” Marinette said, laughing along with the brunette beside her. “Time is of the essence, Alya! Tell me everything!”

“Well,” she started. “Nino and I were talking about which team we’d be on; Team-Cap or Team-Ironman. We are both obviously Team-Cap, although I suspect for different reasons… Then he asked if I wanted to go see the early show with him Friday night!” she squealed, grabbing Marinette’s hand to spin around.

“That’s great, Alya! It’s a match made in heaven, because if you two were on different teams, boy… We’d be having a different conversation right now.”

“You’re so right!” Alya turned serious, and faced her best friend. “Now, tell me everything that happened between you and Adrien. Did you make out?”

“No, Alya!” Marinette exclaimed, glancing around to make sure nobody heard her. “We didn’t do… That!” she paused. “But… He did ask me out.” she whispered.

“ **WHAT?!** ” Alya shrieked, causing Marinette to shush her again. “He asked you out??? Why didn’t you start with that?!”

“Because I knew this is how you’d react!” she whisper-shouted, pulling Alya up the steps and into the school. “Because I know you, Alya. And I didn’t need the entire school knowing!”

“You mean Chloe.” Alya pointed out.

Marinette nodded. “Fine, fine…” Alya sighed. “But still! Where are you going? More importantly, what are you going to wear?”

Marinette thought for a moment. “Well, he asked if I wanted to go out for dinner with him, but he didn’t specify where. So I don’t know what will be appropriate to wear. I’ll need to ask him. But I have a cute red and white polka dot dress that I’ve been working on, so I might see if I can finish that up and wear that.”

Alya squealed. “You’ll look so cute, Mari! Oh! I still need your help tomorrow, deciding what to wear. Will you still be able to help me if you have your own date?”

Marinette smiled. “Of course! I can get dressed at your house, and Adrien and I can leave from your house.”

“Hey girls!” Nino called from across the yard; he and Adrien were standing at the base of the steps leading to the second floor. Marinette and Alya made their way over to the two boys. “Fancy seeing you here.” he winked at Alya.

Alya scoffed. “Totally don’t see you here every other day, hon. Such a shocker that we’d see each other here at school.” she snapped back, smiling.

Adrien stepped beside Marinette with a small smile, and bent down to whisper in her ear “Did Alya freak out as much as Nino did?”

She grinned, and looked towards her partner. “Did you not hear Alya’s shriek? I thought that would’ve been answer enough.”

She turned back towards her friends, who were both smiling fondly at their best friends. “What?” Adrien quirked.

Alya turned towards Nino. “The kids are finally realizing we were right all along.”

Nino wiped his eyes theatrically. “They grow up so fast, Alya.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, and cocked her hip, crossing her arms. “Alright you two, quit acting all parent-y, it doesn’t suit either of you.”

“Besides” Adrien piped up from beside her. “You two took long enough to figure out your feelings for each other. You don’t get to judge.”

Before either Alya or Nino could defend themselves, they were interrupted by a screeched “Adrikins!” from across the yard.

Adrien cringed slightly, and stepped slightly closer to Marinette just before Chloe crashed into him, planting a big kiss on his cheek.

_Get your filthy hands off him, you…_

Alya reached for Marinette, halting her thoughts, and smiled at her sympathetically.

Nino saw the girls’ exchange, and glared over at Chloe. “Isn’t it a little early to be laying it on that thick, Chloe? Give a guy some space.” he grumbled, stepping over to Adrien and Chloe.

Chloe turned her icy gaze to Nino. “Adrien will tell me to leave if he wants me to, Lahiffe. You don’t want me to leave, do you Adrikins?”

Marinette felt her blood boil at her words. _How dare she?_ “If he won’t, I will.” she grit out, glaring at Chloe.

“Actually, Chlo…” Adrien cut in before Chloe could retort. “It’d probably be best if you left. It wasn’t very nice of you to butt into our conversation.” he gently pried himself from her grasp, and stepped around her back to Marinette.

Chloe stared at him, dumbfounded. “How could you? Close your best friend out of your conversation?”

“Nino’s his best friend, Chloe.” Alya snapped, moving to grasp Nino’s elbow. “You don’t know the first thing about Adrien.”

Chloe huffed, and stormed off, past Sabrina, and out of sight, ranting the whole way about “not knowing what he has until it’s gone”.

Marinette took in a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, leaning into Adrien a bit.

“Sorry about Chloe, guys.” Adrien murmured to his friends. “She… She wasn’t always like that. We used to be much closer, before she realized how she could get what she wants.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s like popularity changed her.”

“It’s not your fault, Adrien! You can’t control Chloe’s actions.” Marinette soothed, linking her elbow with his. “Nobody can.”

“She’s right, man.” Nino said soothingly. “Chloe’s a brat, and nothing we say can change that. Only you can change your relationship with her, if you want to.”

The warning bell rang, pulling the friends out of their conversation. Alya and Nino lead the way up the stairs, Marinette and Adrien followed behind, elbows still linked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time school ended, Marinette was so happy the day was over. People had been giving her and Adrien weird looks all day. He might be used to it, being a fashion designer’s son, and a model, but Marinette was unnerved by it.

Alya was talking about the next post she was going to post on the Ladyblog when Lila came from her spot at the back and stood next to Adrien.

“Hi, Adrien! Do you think we could finish our conversation from the other day? I didn’t get a chance to talk to you at the end of the day yesterday.” she said, eying Marinette over the top of Adrien’s head.

“Uhh…” Adrien glanced over his shoulder at Marinette, who shrugged in nonchalance. “Sure, Lila. But I’m not sure there’s anything left for us to talk about…?”

“It’ll all make sense. The same spot as yesterday, that park?” Lila batted her eyelashes, and cocked her hip slightly to the side.

Marinette rolled her eyes at her attempts on Adrien. _Wait until she learns who he’s really interested in..._

“It needs to be quick, Lila. I have other plans. Will it be quick?” Adrien questioned, leaning back in his seat.

“Mhmm! It will only take a few minutes.”

Adrien turned back to Marinette, exasperation clear in his gaze. “I’ll see you later?” he asked quietly, reaching for her hand. Marinette nodded, and he placed a small kiss on her knuckles.

Lila bristled from her spot beside Adrien, and Marinette smirked confidently at her unease.

Adrien gently let go of her hand, and turned back to Lila. “Let’s get going, then?”

Lila smiled, as though what she just saw didn’t bother her, and yanked Adrien towards the door.

“Can’t she see that he’s not interested in her?” Marinette grumbled.

Alya patted her shoulder soothingly. “He’s too nice for his own good. He seemed just as confused as the rest of us as to why Lila would want to talk to him.”

“I dunno, she seemed to cozy up to him pretty quick her first day here…” she grumbled, putting her stuff into her bag.

“He seemed to cozy up quickly to you too, you know.” Alya reminded her best friend, tugging her by her elbow out of the classroom. “It was like BAM you two are practically together. Not that I think it’s a bad thing!”

“You’re… Right, Alya. He did…” Marinette whispered. “Hey… I’ll call you later? I’m gonna go home and finish that dress.”

“Sure thing, hon.” Alya turned, probably going to find Nino. “I need pictures of it when it’s done!” she called back, just before turning the corner.

_She’s right… Adrien did suddenly start wanting to be around me…_

Marinette slowly walked down the school’s front steps, and turned towards her house, lost in thought.

_Is it only because I’m Ladybug?_

_He’s always wanted to know who it was behind the mask, probably so he could know who he was asking out. We don’t really know each other, just like he said last night. He hardly knows anything about me, only the superficial things. Why would he waste any time with little old Marinette? He asked someone out on a date who he hardly knows!_

_He could do so much better than me. And Lila obviously knows this, if she’s so set on pulling him away from me. He’s never paid any attention to Marinette-me until he knew I was also Ladybug… And why should he? The girl who could never talk to him as Marinette, but has thrown him off buildings as Ladybug? What sort of relationship is that?_

Marinette reached the front door of the bakery, and pulled it open slowly. _It’s just like he said… We were both pining after one side of the mask. Once he really gets to know ME, he’ll never want to spend time with me._

As soon as the bakery door closed, Marinette heard screams. She whipped around, and saw people rushing down the street away from… _Something_.

She peered out the bakery window, in the direction people were running away from, and saw why people were running;

An **akumatized** victim.

She took a deep breath, patted her purse, and rushed upstairs to transform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so the restaurant, named "Le Domaine Saphire" means "The Sapphire Estate". I totally came up with it on the fly and is not a real restaurant in France. The name of the restaurant the kiddos go to isn't super important anyways, so I wasn't going to do a bunch of research into it.
> 
> Also, what do you guys think of the angst coming your way? Marinette is doubting the realness of Adrien's feelings for her... Where will this leave them, with an akuma attack on the front lines? Next chapter is in the works now, so the next chapter should be up in a day or so! Stay tuned!!


	14. Two Types of Slap Shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An akuma attacks, and Ladybug is acting differently. Chat tries to talk to her, but what happens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This deserves a hella warning; angst angst angst! I'm sorry, my lovelies, I wish I knew why I do this to the sunshine-child, but I do! Thanks [@mardimari ](http://mardimari.tumblr.com/) for helping me make this chapter even angstier!

# Two Types of Slap Shots 

Ladybug launched off of her balcony, landing on the street beside the bakery. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings; everything looked normal, from the trees in the park swaying comfortably in the breeze, to the cars parked unsuspectingly along the street. The only thing that was different…

Was the ice creeping towards her spot on the ground.

She immediately launched to the nearest roof to get away from the advancing ice.

“What’s the point to this?” she murmured to herself. “And where is that cat?”

“Right here, my Lady.” Chat Noir replied, landing beside her softly. “What’s with the ice?”

She shrugged, squinting down at the street below. “The akuma ran off, so I haven’t gotten a good look at him yet. I’m sure once we see it, the ice will make sense.”

Chat nodded, and motioned for her to lead the way. Ladybug threw her yoyo, launching her into the air towards where she last saw the akuma.

They found him a few streets over. He was tall, built like a football player, wearing a navy blue jersey and a pair of black skates. He had a loose hockey helmet on, and brandished a beaten up hockey stick. He was skating around, and ice formed a few feet in front of wherever he skated.

“I am Slap Shot! And I will show the world that I am a team player, by turning everyone into my teammates!” he hollered, and slapped a freshly materialized hockey puck at a civilian. The civilian was too slow to react, getting hit in the thigh with the flying hockey puck. She was surrounded in a blinding white light, returning wearing a matching blue jersey, and a similar hockey stick.

“Seriously? Well, it looks like we have hockey pucks to look out for, eh?” Chat quirked with a grin. Ladybug rolled her eyes at his attempt at being funny.

“Sadly it does look that way. Why couldn’t he just stay home and drink beer like a regular Canadian?” she muttered, peering down at Slap Shot’s person. “Think the akuma’s in his helmet?”

Chat shook his head, and pointed. “I would put money on it being in his stick. Everything else looks new, but that stick is beat up like he decided to go after the goalie after one too many drinks.”

She nodded slowly. “I hadn’t actually noticed that,” she said slowly, lost in thought. “You’re probably right.”

Chat glanced over at her, finally noticing the crease between her brows. “You all good, Mari?” he whispered, and grabbed her wrist. “You don’t seem yourself…”

“I’m fine,” she snapped, wrenching her wrist from his grip. “Let’s just get this done and over with.”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it, and nodded slightly. Without a word, he jumped down onto the ice, slipping a bit before regaining his footing. “Hey, puck-head!” he hollared. “How’s your aim?”

Slap Shot turned to face Chat, and grinned. “Better than you might think. I can hit a moving target, but how well can you guard yourself?” he goaded, and lowered his stick into a shooting position. A glowing puck materialized just in front of the poised stick, and he aimed at Chat.

Chat Noir pulled out his baton, extended it, and spun it in front of him. The puck deflected off the spinning weapon, and hit another civilian in his shoulder, causing him to turn into one of Slap Shot’s team members.

“Aww, c’mon!” Chat exclaimed, and slowed his baton. “What happened to ‘good sportsmanship’?”

The two turned civilians flanked behind Slap Shot, their sticks lowered. “All’s fair in hockey, kid.” Slap shot grinned, and motioned for his teammates to follow him. They started advancing towards Chat.

Ladybug hopped down to join Chat. “We have to dodge them, we can’t deflect them incase they hit another civilian. Then there will just be more of them against us.” she said quietly, trying to find the best way for them to take down Slap Shot.

Chat nodded, and took a step back, stepping onto the sidewalk. “He keeps his head down when he goes to hit the puck; are you able to snatch it from him just before he does that?”

She nodded. “You’ll need to step aside just before he goes to hit the puck, because I’ll most likely be able to snatch the stick just after he hits the puck. Heads up!” she suddenly shrieked, stepped to the side, and threw her yoyo.

One of Slap Shot’s teammates anticipated her throw, and whacked her yoyo to the side with their stick. She gathered it back up with a grimace, and spared a glance at Chat.

He nodded at her, and moved to their left, rushing to the teammates’ side to keep their attention. “Wouldn’t I be a good teammate, guys? Hit me with your best shot!” he said in a sing-song voice, running behind them.

They turned to face him, and he dodged their attacks as fast as they could hit them, backing away from Ladybug and Slap Shot the entire time.

“It’s just you and me now. Gonna use your power play?” Ladybug goaded, spinning her yoyo about idly.

Slap Shot grinned, and leaned on his stick, staring his opponent down. “Now what’s the fun in that? Why don’t I just wait for your partner to become one of my teammates, then he and I can take you down together?”

“That’s not gonna happen, you hockey puck!” Chat shouted, jumping over the akuma’s head. He landed beside Ladybug, and grinned briefly at her, before looking back at their opponent. “They’ve been put in the penalty box.”

Slap Shot glanced behind him, to see his teammates locked in an old telephone booth, unconscious. He grimaced, and turned back to the heros. “Then it appears you have the power play, Ladybug. What’s your move?”

“This!” she called, throwing her yoyo right when Chat launched his baton. Chat’s baton connected with Slap Shot’s chest, and Ladybug’s yoyo attached to his stick, pulling it back to her.

“No!” Slap Shot shrieked, as Ladybug brought the hockey stick down on her thigh, breaking it in half. A little black butterfly fluttered out, and Ladybug smirked, opening her yoyo. She caught it, and released a white butterfly, with a soft “bye bye little butterfly”.

Chat offered his fist in their usual victory conclusion, but Ladybug walked past him to the man sitting up, dazed and confused.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing his forehead.

Ladybug smiled softly, kneeling down beside the confused man. “Nothing you should be ashamed of. You hardly did any damage, just some icy streets. Don’t worry about it.”

He groaned, and stood up. “Thanks for stopping me.” he said quietly, and turned away.

Ladybug turned to her partner, who was staring at her intently. “What?” she questioned under his scrutiny.

“We need to talk,” he said seriously, and motioned up to the rooftops. “Come on.” Chat turned, and extended his staff to land on the roof just above their heads, and took off running.

Ladybug stared after him for a moment, before following. She followed him over a few streets, before they stopped on a roof just across the street from her own balcony.

Chat turned his emerald gaze on Ladybug, and crossed his arms. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, no hint of amusement in his features.

“Wh.. What do you mean?” she replied quietly, peering down at the space between them.

He shook his head, and closed the distance, until there was only a few inches between them. “I mean, what’s on your mind? You’ve been… Off since the start of this akuma attack.” he brought up his clawed hand to her chin, lifting her gaze back to his.

“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry about it…”

“Don’t lie to me, Mari.” he snapped. Chat took a deep breath, before softly apologizing.

Ladybug took a deep breath, and clenched her hands at her side. “I don’t think going out on a date is such a good idea.” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Chat dropped his hand from her chin, staring at her incredulously. “What?”

“I said,” she opened her eyes, “I don’t think we should go out on a date.”

“No, I heard you…” he murmured, shaking his head. “I just don’t understand. Why?”

Ladybug sighed, and stepped back. “You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me, you only see Ladybug.” She motioned down at herself, then threw her arm out vaguely. “There are so many other girls out there, who are better for you, better than me, and vying for your attention.” she muttered bitterly.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Ladybug cut him off. “It’s like you said; we were both pining after one side of the mask. You never saw Marinette, all you saw was Ladybug. So… I don’t think this is a good idea.”

She stepped around him, and stopped at the edge of the rooftop. “I’m sorry…” she murmured, and threw her yoyo across the street to land on her balcony, and quickly dropped into her room, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She let go of her transformation, and sat down stiffly on her bed.

Tikki floated in front of her, waving her little paws about. “What was that, Marinette?” she shrieked, eyes wide. “You just told Adrien you didn’t want to go out on a date with him?? Why would you do that?”

Marinette laid down on the bed, staring up through the door to her balcony. “Because, Tikki,” she sighed, “we hardly know each other. All he sees is Ladybug. He’s never noticed Marinette before. It’s like Alya said, he ‘cozied up’ pretty quickly, right after he found out I was Ladybug.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” she questioned, sitting down on her chosen’s chest. “He found out that his partner and best friend sits behind him in class, of course he’s going to want to hang out with you more!”

“All he’s ever cared about is Ladybug.” she whispered.

Tikki zoomed up to just centimeters from her chosen’s gaze, staring down at her. “And you’re one to talk?” she snapped. “You kept turning down Chat because you had feelings for Adrien. How is that fair to him?”

Marinette stayed quiet, and glanced away from her kwami.

Tikki sighed, and laid a tiny paw on Marinette’s cheek. “Adrien has no idea why you suddenly turned him down. You should talk to him, explain your thoughts; I’m sure he’d understand. Don’t leave your partner feeling this way, Marinette!”

She rolled over onto her side, and pulled her blanket up under her chin, ending their conversation. Tikki huffed and floated away, leaving her chosen to her thoughts.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chat stood still, shocked, after Ladybug left. It wasn’t until he heard the harsh click of her trap door locking that pulled him out of his thoughts.

_Why did Marinette cancel our date? Was it something I said? Something I did?_

_Was it because I talked to Lila? She didn’t seem very keen on the idea, but I couldn’t just turn Lila down! We don’t know if akuma victims can be re-akumatized, and there was no harm in talking to her for a few minutes!_

_She said I don’t know her… But I do! I know how passionate she is about her designs, the crease she gets between her eyebrows when she doesn’t like an aspect of her design, the way her tongue sticks out when she’s concentrating… How determined she is, how smart, kind, beautiful… How can she say I don’t know her?_

Chat turned towards her balcony, and launched over to it. He padded lightly across the roof to the door, knelt, and knocked softly. He could see Marinette buried underneath the covers, and saw her pull the covers up more firmly over her head. _Why won’t she just talk to me???_

He stayed still for a moment, hoping her head would pop out to look up at him, but she didn’t. He took a deep breath, stood up, and launched off of her balcony, headed for home.

_Nino will know what to do… Or at least call Alya to figure out what to do… I should just call Alya._

As soon as Chat landed back in his room, he released the transformation, and jogged over to his desk for his phone. He immediately dialled Alya, hoping she’d answer.

“Adrien?” she asked on the sixth ring. “What’s up?”

“Why did Marinette cancel our date Friday?” he blurted, all pleasantries aside.

“She did _what_?” she shrieked, dropping something in the background.

“She said that going out on a date Friday wasn’t a good idea…” he whispered, running his hand through his hair nervously. “What’d I do wrong, Alya?”

“Honey, I don’t think _you_ did anything wrong. I think this is Marinette freaking out and getting scared and backing away. But don’t fret, I’m gonna call her _right now_. You talk to Nino; he’ll know what to do.” she said determinedly, before she hung up.

Adrien rubbed his free hand over his eyes, before dialling Nino. It went to voicemail. He huffed, and tossed his phone onto the couch, starting to pace.

“Calm down, kid.” Plagg said, landing on Adrien’s shoulder. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for her backing out on tomorrow. Don’t overthink this!”

“But why would she say I don’t know her, Plagg? I do! I know her in and out of costume, better than most people. How can she say that?” he wailed.

“Did you maybe think that she’s just scared? That this is all very new, and that you were moving too fast for her?” Plagg said softly, rubbing Adrien’s neck soothingly.

“Do you think I’m moving too fast, Plagg?” he whispered, turning to look down at his kwami.

“I don’t, but it doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what she thinks that matters.”

Before Adrien could answer, his phone started ringing from the couch. He launched over the couch to get it, hoping it was Marinette. Nino’s contact was up on the screen, and Adrien answered.

“Hey man, sorry I missed your call, mom asked me to do something for her. What’s up?”

“Mari cancelled on me tomorrow, Nino…” Adrien whispered into the phone.

“ _What?_ ” Nino shrieked, something clanging in the background. “She did _what now_?”

“I don’t know!” he whined, flopping down on the couch. “She talked to me after school, and said that going out on a date wasn’t a good idea. What’d I do wrong, Nino?”

“Did you call Alya? Maybe she knows?”

The blonde sighed. “I called Alya already, it was as much of a shock to her as it was for you. She had no idea Mari was gonna back out…”

“Well, I know for a fact that she’s head over heels for you. She probably just got scared, that’s all! Just give her the night to come to her senses, and try talking to her before class tomorrow. Okay? Just breath, man, I know you’re probably _freaking out_ about this.” Nino paused for a moment, “Do you need me to come over?”

“Maybe later, Nino. I have an extended Chinese lesson starting soon. Maybe come around seven? I could really use your moral support man.”

“Alright,” Nino confirmed. “I’ll be there. And I’ll bring pizza, because I know both of us will be hungry, and you deserve junk food after something like this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I had a fair amount of fun downing on Canadians with this hockey player akuma. I think I picked on every aspect Canadians are known for, other than constantly apologizing [because no akuma is gonna constantly apologize]. [Also, for those of you who don't know, a power play in hockey is where one team has the advantage over the other, where the disadvantaged team has a member in the penalty box. So it would be 5 against 4 players on the ice for an amount of time.]
> 
> What is Mari thinking? Backing out on the love of her life? Well, Alya is gonna talk to her, Adrien will brood on the subject, and Nino will try to help his best friend make it until morning. Until next chapter, my lovelies!
> 
> [Who knows if the angst will continue?]


	15. Stalling for Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to talk to Marinette. Alya and Nino are super supportive and try to help all they can.
> 
> Chloe interrupts... But does something unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I've had a ton of praise on the angst...  
> Looks like with the hiatus all of us want angst. **We aren't gonna know what to do with canon fluff when it comes back, you guys know that right?**  
>  Well, _I've fed you beasts_. Here's your angst, best served cold.
> 
> [Again, thanks to [@mardimari](http://mardimari.tumblr.com/) for her help, even if she says she doesn't do much. Even discussing canon ML helps, and helping me create chapter titles... Godsend.]

# Stalling for Time 

Adrien got to school a whole hour before classes were even supposed to start. The Gorilla had given him an odd look when he had requested going to school early, but obliged as soon as he heard why. So here Adrien was, pacing in front of the school steps, fifteen minutes to the warning bell, waiting for Marinette to show up.

_I should just go over to her house; she can’t avoid me there, and would have to listen to what I say. But that could be seen as coming off too strong… I can just corner her as soon as she crosses the street, even if she’s late._

Nino appeared beside Adrien, and patted him in the shoulder, causing the blonde to jump. “Dude, chill, it’s just me.” Nino said softly, peering over at his friend sympathetically. “Seen Marinette yet?”

“No…” Adrien mumbled, shoulders sagging. “She hasn’t shown up yet. But it’s still early...” he shrugged halfheartedly.

“How long have you been here, man? You look dead on your feet. I wasn’t even there that late last night!”

Adrien glanced down at his phone, checking the time. “Been here for forty-seven minutes, roughly.”

Nino’s eyes widened. “Dude, Marinette is never here early. Why would you even show up that soon?”

Adrien stared at the ground beneath their feet, not offering an answer.

Nino sighed. “Come on, man. Let’s go find Alya, she’ll know what to do. And she’ll know when Marinette shows up.” He grabbed Adrien’s elbow, and dragged him up the steps, into the school.

They spotted Alya on a bench by the stairs leading up to their classroom, looking down at her phone. Nino pushed Adrien down beside Alya.

“How are you, hon?” Alya asked Adrien quietly, putting her phone down to face him. “Are you okay?”

Adrien buried his head in his hands, and groaned softly. “No, I’m not really. I’m really confused, I just want to know why she turned me down.”

Nino sat down on Alya’s other side, almost touching. “He didn’t say much about it last night... But I know he was thinking about everything he’d ever said to Marinette over the course of their friendship.” he gently put his hand on her knee, and adjusted his glasses on his nose. “Did you end up talking to Marinette, Alya?”

She shook her head, glancing over at Nino. “No, she didn’t answer any of my calls last night. I was babysitting my sisters so I couldn’t just go over to her house like I wanted to. But I swear, once you talk to her, Adrien, she’s getting an earful from me.”

A phone alert interrupted their discussion, and Alya glanced down at her phone screen. She huffed, annoyed, and furiously typed out a reply.

“All good there…?” Nino questioned, trying to read over her shoulder.

“No!” she exclaimed, slamming her phone off of her leg. “Marinette said she’s gonna be late, she got up late.”

Adrien snapped his head up, looking over at his friends. _Is she coming late to avoid me??_

Alya started dialling a number, made sure it was ringing, and passed it to Adrien.

He took it, confusion clearly plastered on his features, and brought the phone up to his ear.

It rung for a few moments, before Marinette’s voice filtered through the speaker. “Alya I said I’d be there in a few minutes, so just give me a break!” she snapped, exasperated.

“It’s, uh, actually me, Mari.” Adrien said softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

It was quiet on the other end of the phone for a moment, before Marinette breathed out an “oh”.

“Look, Mari… What you said yesterday… That’s not true. I may have not always,” he dropped his voice down to a whisper, “seen you both in the same light, but… I know you very well.”

“Look, Adrien-”

“No, Mari, I need to say this.” Adrien took a deep breath, “I can’t stand the distance between us, and I don’t think it’s fair that you just _shut me out_ when you got scared. I will always listen to anything you have to say, you know that.”

Marinette huffed, sounding very tired. “Look, Adrien, this isn’t a conversation we should be having over the phone. And by the time I get to school there won’t be enough time to _really talk_ , so how about we talk at lunch?”

He nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Alright, that sounds good.” He paused, before adding, “If you still think, after we talk, that we shouldn’t do this… I won’t push you. But I hope you do reconsider, I can’t stand being put at a distance from you.”

“Alright. See you soon.” she said, and the line died.

Adrien passed the phone back to Alya, avoiding both of their gazes.

“What’d she say, man?” Nino questioned, leaning around Alya to try to catch his gaze.

“She said we’d talk at lunch, because by the time she got here we wouldn’t have enough time.”

Alya nodded, and shrugged slightly. “That’s fair. You’d only have five minutes or so before class started.”

Nino stood up, and turned back to face them. “We should get up to class before people notice your moping. Cheer up a bit, I’m sure things will work out.”

Alya stood up next, and pulled Adrien up after her. She then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight to her. Adrien returned the hug slowly, and rested his chin on her head lightly. She held him for a few moments, before letting go, and stepping back towards Nino.

“I’m sure things will work out, Adrien. I know Marinette, and she’ll come around, even if it takes her a while to wrap her head around something.” she said soothingly.

Adrien nodded, wringing his hands together.

“You’re lucky you are my best bud, or else I’d have to kill you for hugging my girl.” Nino chuckled, and put his arm around Alya lightly.

“Pfft, not your girl until you ask, Lahiffe.” Alya scoffed, and ducked under his arm. She turned towards the stairs, and blew a kiss over her shoulder at Nino, before bounding up the stairs.

Nino stood still, shocked, before turning to Adrien. “She wants me to ask her to be my girlfriend?” he asked incredulously.

Adrien smirked at his best friend, shaking his head, and stepped over to him. “It appears so! You’d better ask her soon before she changes her mind.”

Nino’s eyes widened, and he hightailed it up the stairs after Alya. Adrien chuckled softly, and followed his friend up the stairs.

Adrien walked in the class just as Alya threw herself at Nino, hugging him. Nino was smiling the biggest smile Adrien had ever seen on his best friend, and was able to guess what this was about. _Good for him, he deserves to get the girl. Maybe one day soon I can get my girl._

Adrien plopped down in his seat, and put his head down until class started.

A minute or so before the bell rang, he felt someone run their hand through his hair. Adrien snapped his head up, to meet a startled Marinette’s gaze. He slumped slightly in relief, and smiled softly at her.

She returned the smile, and leaned down to whisper an “I’m sorry” in his ear, before taking her seat.

Just after Marinette sat down, Ms. Bustier called the classroom to quiet down, and Adrien couldn’t say anything more to Marientte until lunch time rolled around.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As soon as the bell rang, signalling the start of lunch, Adrien released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He turned back to face Marinette, and watched her for a moment. She had her hair in it’s usual pigtails, but they were not quite even, as if she’d thrown them back haphazardly this morning. _She probably did; she was in a rush to get here after you talked to her this morning, dummy._

Suddenly, there was a yellow blur just to his left, and Adrien jumped a bit at the suddenness of the person’s arrival.

“Adrien!” Chloe drawled, running her nail down the center of his chest lightly. “It’s been foreeeeeeeeever since we had lunch together. Why don’t we have lunch together today?”

Adrien sighed, letting his head fall back. _Of all the times she could have picked, she had to pick **now**_?? “Look, Chlo, I’ve already got plans. I really need to-”

“Plans? They can’t be that important, Adrikins. Can’t you reschedule?” she interrupts, pouting.

“No, this I really can’t reschedule. It’s already been too long, I really need to talk to Ma--” Adrien glanced back to where Marinette was sitting, only to find her spot empty. “Wha…?” he whispered, whipping around to face Nino.

Nino shook his head, and mouthed “she left”.

“Seriously?” Adrien snapped, and groaned, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “Look, I’m sorry, Chloe, but I _really_ need to find Marinette. Rain check?”

Chloe stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Marinette? Why do you need to find her?” she grumbled, and lifted her hand to examine her nails.

“Because I need to figure out why she backed out on our date!” he snapped, and bent down to grab his bag. He pushed past Chloe, jogging out of the classroom.

Chloe quickly caught up with him, and pulled on his elbow, slowing him to a walk. “You asked her out on a date?” she questioned, surprise clear on her features.

“I did, Chloe. But I don’t see why that’s of importance to you. You don’t like her anyways, so why would you care?”

She blinked, hurt flashing across her features before she schooled her expression again. “I’m just worried about you, Adrien. You’ve been down all morning, I didn’t think it would be over… That.”

“Well I’m sorry, the girl I’m head over heels for said yes to a date, then turned me down a day later with no reason whatsoever. So I’m sorry if I’m not as chipper as I usually am.” Adrien snapped, and wrenched his arm from her grasp.

“Adrien!” Chloe snapped. “Stop brooding and just **look** at me for a second!”

Adrien huffed, and turned to face Chloe.

“Do you really like her?” she asked, softer.

Adrien nodded.

“Is she worth it?”

Adrien nodded again, and took a step towards Chloe. “She’s worth it to me, Chloe.”

She nodded slightly, and bit her lip, before saying, “Then go show her how much she means to you.”

Adrien grinned, and wrapped Chloe up in a quick hug, before jogging out of the school towards Marinette’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supportive Chloe? My FAVOURITE.  
> Adrien's gonna go find Marinette and finally talk with her. What will she say? Will she listen?  
> I'm actually about to start working on Chapter 16, so it could be up within the next 24hours... Stay tuned!  
> [And feel free to let me know what you think of the story, here or on my tumblr.]


	16. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien corners Marinette, and they have a chat about their feelings...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is _five_ pages of angst. I hope you guys love it.  
>  **Also, please don't smother me. I love you all and I'm sorry?**  
>  Also, [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGpSFVEh2SE) was what I listened to the whole time I wrote this chapter. I think it ties in pretty well ;)

# Revelation 

Marinette was seated on her desk chair, scrolling through the Ladyblog when she heard a commotion downstairs. _Papa must have dropped something…_ She was curled up, knees pulled up to her chest, with a plate of cookies on the desk for her and Tikki to share.

Tikki was seated on the edge of the plate, taking tiny bites out of the snickerdoodle cookie in her paws. “When are you going to talk to Adrien?” she mumbled around her cookie.

_When will I get a chance to talk to him? He probably has lunch plans now, with **Chloe** …_ “I dunno, Tikki… Whenever I see him next, I guess. I’m going straight over to Alya’s after school, to help her tonight, so I might not see him until Monday…”

“I don’t think you’ll have to wait that long!” Tikki giggled, grabbed another cookie, and flew up to Marinette’s loft.

“Mari?” Adrien called from downstairs. “Where are you?”

“Adrien?” _What is he doing here? Shouldn’t he be out with Chloe?_ “I’m, uh, in my room.”

She heard Adrien pad up the stairs lightly, but didn’t turn to face him. “Hi.” he said softly, and stopped just a few feet shy of her desk chair.

“Hey…” she replied, resting her chin on top of her knees. “I thought you had a lunch date?” she said bitterly.

“No. I told Chloe I needed to talk to you. She sort of shoved me over here after that, actually.”

“Really? I highly doubt that…”

Adrien sighed, and closed the final few steps to her desk chair, spinning her around slowly. “Look, Mari, I know you don’t like Chloe. I will never understand why you two hate each other, but I know I can’t change it. She’s different around me, and as soon as I said I needed to find you…” he paused, and rubbed the back of his neck, “she forced me to come talk to you.”

He knelt down in front of her, so they were nearly eye level. “What’s going through your head, my Lady?” he whispered, gently pulling her feet forwards so they were resting on the ground. “Why did you back out, really?”

Marinette closed her eyes, and bent her head forwards. “I just… Things are just moving so fast. We revealed ourselves to each other _three days_ ago. Don’t you think we are moving too fast?”

“No, I don’t think we are. But if you think we are moving too fast, we can take things slower.” Adrien paused, before adding, “but that doesn’t explain why you cancelled our date tonight.”

_No, it doesn’t._ Marinette opened her eyes, and her vision was filled with emerald green. _Adrien’s_ emerald green eyes. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. “You can do so much better than me. Both Chloe and Lila know that, that’s why they’re vying for your attention.”

“What do Chloe and Lila have to do with this?” Adrien blurted, staring at her incredulously. “Is it because Lila wanted to talk to me the other day?”

“Partially…” she murmured. “What did she want to talk to you about, anyways?”

Adrien flushed slightly, and ducked his head. “She, uhh… Wanted to apologize for dangling ‘me’ off of the Eiffel Tower. So she asked if she could treat me to lunch one day.”

Marinette felt her blood run cold. _She’s still trying to get his attention, even after he made a show of kissing my hand._ “Oh…”

“But I told her I couldn’t.” Adrien said quickly, lifting his gaze back up to hers. “I told her that you and I were going out on a date. She was obviously upset, but didn’t push it.” He reached up to cup her cheek lightly, and Marinette leaned into it unconsciously. “You obviously didn’t cancel because of Chloe and Lila; I’ve seen you berate Chloe until she quits whining about whatever it is she’s whining about. So what’s the real reason?”

“I told you before… You don’t know anything about me, Adrien.” she whispered, tilting her head away from his hand. “You only ever saw Ladybug, and only noticed Marinette once you knew we were one in the same.”

Adrien pulled his hand back quickly, as though he’d been burned. “How can you say that, Mari?” he snapped, his gaze hardening. “I only ever kept my distance from you because you always seemed so uncomfortable whenever I was around you. I didn’t want to cause you stress! But you can’t say I never noticed you; I saw you give birthday presents to our classmates. I saw the look on your face whenever you were concentrating on something and toned out the rest of the world. I know how you ramble when you’re nervous; I was on the receiving end of that a lot. I know how passionate you are, how you give your all to any project thrown at you.” he took a calming breath, before continuing, “That’s not fair, Mari. Don’t act like you didn’t do the _exact_ same thing to me.”

“Maybe I did,” Marinette snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “But it wasn’t like I didn’t care for either side of you; I made that obvious.”

“How was that obvious? You shut your partner out, not letting me know anything about your personal life! The only times we saw each other were for akuma attacks, or planned patrols. You never said anything more to me than you had to.” he rubbed his hand down his face. “You were so hung up on Adrien that you never stopped to consider that my flirting meant more than just a joke.”

“And what was I supposed to think of that, huh?” she asked, leaning forwards. “Every time I was with you, as Marinette or Ladybug, all you did was flirt and show off. The Evillustrator attack, when I first ‘met’ Chat Noir? You called me ‘princess’ and showed of! All I’d ever seen my partner do was flirt with me, so what was I **supposed** to think of you?”

Adrien stared at her, shoulders drooping slightly. “Of course I did. I thought you hated me as Adrien, so as soon as I could introduce myself to you as Chat Noir… I had to make a better first impression. I didn’t want you to hate me five minutes after you met me, and you acted so differently around me. I’d never seen you act so brave or selfless before, and I was drawn to you.”

_...I’d never thought of that._ “So you were never a flirt to… Everyone?”

“No, Mari. I only ever flirted with you, even if I didn’t know it at the time.”

_He only ever flirted with me. Even if he didn’t know specifically that it was me with and without the mask… He still only flirted with me. Holy hell Adrien Agreste has been flirting with me for **months**!!!_

Adrien smirked at her sudden speechlessness. “What’s wrong, my Lady? Cat got your tongue?”

Marinette stared at him with the most deadpan look she could conjure. “If you ask me that every time I’m rendered speechless, you’ll learn how many ways I can skin a cat.”

Adrien looked shocked for a moment, before he broke out laughing. He was laughing so hard he was doubled over on Marinette’s lap, crying a bit. Marinette ran her fingers through his hair, laughing along with him.

“Fine, chaton, you win. Are you still up for a date this evening?” she asked, with a roll of her eyes.

He stopped laughing, wiped his eyes, and peered up at her hopefully. “You really want to…?” he whispered.

Marinette smiled, and nodded. “I do want to, chaton. Do we still have dinner reservations?”

He nodded frantically, and launched up to hug her tightly, grinning like a fool. Marinette returned the hug, burying her nose in his neck.

“I hope you don’t freak out… But I got us reservations to _Le Domaine Saphire_.”

Marinette pushed Adrien back to arm’s length, eyes wide. “You got us dinner reservations _there_?!” she shrieked. “What am I even supposed to wear?? Oh no I don’t think the dress I made will be good enough for that place!!”

“What dress, Mari?” Adrien interrupted, reaching up to cup her cheek gently. “I’m sure whatever you made is perfect.”

Marinette stood up, and made her way over to her chaise, where she had a white dress bag laid across the cushions. She unzipped the bag, and pulled out a long red dress with white polka dots of varying sizes. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, lined with delicate white lace, and came down to a few inches below her knees. It had sheer red butterfly sleeves, and similar white lace edging the bottom of the dress. It billowed out slightly from her waist, looking as though it would float when she walked in it.

“Wow, Mari, that’s a stunning dress. When’d you do that?” Adrien asked, gaping at the dress.

“I had started it a while ago, but I finished it last night.” she said, blushing slightly. “Do you think this is acceptable for _Le Domaine Saphire_?”

“Of course it is! You made it, so it’s definitely worthy to wear there.” Adrien stood, and walked over to Marinette and her dress, stroking it slightly between his fingers. “Can I see you wearing it?”

She giggled, pulled the dress from his grasp, and zipped it back into the dress bag. “No, kitty. You’ll see it tonight!” she said, and booped his nose. “Oh! I nearly forgot; I’m going to Alya’s after school, to help her get ready, but I may as well just get ready at her house. Are you able to pick me up from there?”

Adrien nodded, and shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Girls take a lot longer than guys to get ready. Our reservation is at 6:30, and I know Nino and Alya’s movie starts soon after, so we might as well give them a ride to the theater. Does that work?”

“Sure! I’d better call Alya and let her know. Actually… Do you mind if we video chat her? She and Nino are probably together, and they’ll want to know that our date is back on.”

He shrugged, and followed Marinette to her desk to grab her phone. She started the video chat, waiting for Alya to pick up.

After a few rings, Alya’s face appeared on the screen. “Marinette, girl, you better come back here quick; Adrien’s been looking for you! You need to talk to him.”

Adrien stepped into the frame, and waved. “We already talked, Alya, don’t worry.”

“Oh!” Alya exclaimed, and waved frantically to someone offscreen. “Nino! We found Adrien!”

Nino suddenly appeared on the screen, his face right beside Alya’s. “Dude! We were wondering where you went; Chloe’s still here, and doesn’t seem the least bit mad. How’d you manage to get away from her?”

“I, uh, told her I needed to come talk to Mari, and she pushed me over here. Crazy, right?” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Wow…” Alya murmured. “Never would have guessed that. But moving past that!” she brought the phone up so it showed an up-close of her face. “What’s happening with you two?” she asked suspiciously.

“We worked things out, Alya.” Marinette grinned, and reached up to loop her free hand around Adrien’s neck. “Date’s still on for tonight.”

Both Alya and Nino whooped from their end, causing Adrien and Marinette to laugh at their friends’ enthusiasm. “I’m glad things worked out, man.” Nino said, giving the screen a thumbs up. “You guys are coming back, right? Classes start back up soon.”

“We’ll leave in a few, Nino.” Marinette replied, then pointed to Adrien. “Adrien had an idea for tonight.”

“We’re all ears!” Alya exclaimed.

“Well, Mari’s going to your house after school, Alya, so she thought she’d just get ready at your place. So why don’t Nino and I pick you two girls up there at 6:15, and we can drop you guys off at the theater?”

“That sounds good, man! That’d be great, actually.” Nino said, smiling.

“Don’t forget to bring an umbrella, girl! It’s supposed to rain tonight, so bring one to my house.” Alya called, before ending the video chat.

Marinette shut her phone off, and stood to collect her things. She grabbed a pair of red flats, laid them beside her dress bag, and moved to grab her makeup kit, when Adrien stopped her with a hand to her elbow.

“Hold up a sec, my Lady…” he murmured in her ear, and tugged her gently to sit down beside him on the steps leading up to her loft. They were pressed together from elbow to hip to thigh, causing Marinette to flush.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… There’s something you said earlier that sticks out in my mind, and I need to put it to rest.” he said mysteriously, grabbing one of her hands.

“Don’t keep me in suspense, Adrien. I said a lot of things earlier…”

“I believe your exact words were ‘you can do so much better than me’.” _Holy hell he caught that?_ “And I don’t believe that’s true. In fact, I don’t think it could be farther from the truth.”

She snapped her gaze to his, trying to figure out the meaning of his words. “What are you saying, Adrien?”

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, Mari. Chloe, Lila, anyone; they don’t matter. All that matters,” he whispered, pulling her hand up to his lips, “is what we think of each other. And I must say, bugaboo, that I am very _fond_ of you.”

A grin broke out on Marinette’s face. “I’m glad, chaton. I’m very fond of you as well.” she replied softly, cupping his cheek softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This chapter was a roller coaster with it's ups and downs. I hope you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> I have also come to the decision that this will end within a few chapters. I've portrayed what I wanted to in this work, and am working on creating a suitable ending now. I'm so happy that you guys stuck with me for this long, and hope that you are enjoying it as much as I am!


	17. Timely Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe corners Marinette to have a serious conversation with her...  
> Then Alya goes all reporter on poor Mari...  
> And even Nino questions Adrien.
> 
> The poor kiddos are subjected to questions by their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a long time since I posted, and I'm really sorry. I ended up writing this all in about 24 hours, when I finally had enough inspiration for where I wanted this story to go [in regards to the end], and decided on this.  
> Also, [ @mardimari](http://mardimari.tumblr.com/) helped with the Legend of Zelda ideas, which I was totally down for. Enjoy!

# Timely Questions 

As soon as the final bell rang for the day, Marinette slouched back in her seat, stretching. “Ugh, finally! I thought this class would never eeeeeeeeeend.” she whined, rolling her head over to pout at Alya.

Alya laughed, piling her stuff into her bag. “Anxious, are we?”

Marinette felt herself flush, and she turned her head back to the front to look at Adrien’s blonde mop. “Maybe a little.” she whispered. Marinette started packing her things back up, and suddenly there was a shadow looming over her desk.

“Marinette Dupain Cheng,” Chloe snapped out in her usual snarky tone.

“Uh, hi Chloe.” Marinette replied, leaning away from her slightly. “Can I help you?”

“Can I have a word with you?” she asked, quieter. “Alone?”

Marinette felt her jaw drop, but she quickly closed it, nodding. “Sure, Chloe. Just a minute…” she started packing her bag quicker, anxious to get this conversation over with. _It’s probably about Adrien…_

Marinette stood, and followed Chloe towards the door. With a quick “I’ll be back,” to Adrien and Alya, she followed a step behind Chloe. They walked towards the library in awkward silence, and made their way to the back corner, where nobody would immediately notice them.

“What’s this about, Chloe?” Marinette questioned, wringing her hands in front of her.

Chloe’s shoulders drooped, and suddenly, she looked very insecure. “Do you have any idea how much you mean to him?” she asked quietly, peering down at the floor between them. “Do you actually understand that when Adrien loves someone, he puts his entire being into it? He doesn’t half-heart this.”

Marinette narrowed her gaze at the blonde before her, trying to figure out where this was going. “I know…? He’s a very passionate person.”

“I don’t _just_ mean that. He…” she shook her head, trying to find the right words, “He cares too much. And in a relationship, that could make him or break him.” she tapped her foot to her own beat, before adding, “Do you have any idea what he was like after his mother disappeared? How heartbroken and alone he was? His father threw himself into his work, hid himself away, hired people to deal with Adrien… That left Adrien all alone to deal with the loss of his mother. I don’t want to see him like that again.”

“I know, Chloe. I don’t plan to hurt him--”

“He was really hurt earlier, Marinette!” Chloe snapped, icy irises glaring into bluebell ones. “He was in his own little world, trying to figure out what he did wrong. He was blaming himself, for _what_ I don’t know, and you were ignoring him or avoiding him or… _Something_ and it just tore him apart.” she paused, rubbing her hand over her eyes. She sighed, and returned her gaze to the girl in front of her. “Does he mean as much to you?” she finally whispered.

Marinette nodded, and bit her lip. “He’s my best friend, Chloe. I can’t imagine my life without him in it anymore.”

Chloe huffed softly, and nodded. “Glad you two both think that. I swear, if you break his heart, I will break **you**.” she threatened.

Marinette nodded, and lowered her gaze. “I hope you do. I’ll need some sense knocked into me if this happens again.” she confessed quietly.

Chloe perked up suddenly, as if building her usual walls back up. “And know that as soon as Adrien drops you, I’ll be the main girl in his life again, Marinette Dupain Cheng.” she snapped, smirking, before she flipped her hair over her shoulder, and stalked out of the library.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So what did Chloe want?” Alya questioned as soon as her bedroom door shut behind Marinette.

Marinette threw her bag down on the ground, and launched herself onto Alya’s bed, groaning. “You know, the usual ‘hurt him and I hurt you’ spiel. She was upset about how I made Adrien feel earlier.”

“And with good reason!” Alya exclaimed, looming over her best friend. “He was really upset earlier. Nino and I were really worried about him; I’ve never seen him look so upset. What happened between you two, Marinette?”

Marinette threw her arm over her eyes, avoiding Alya’s piercing gaze. “Well, you know how he had that huge crush on Ladybug…” Alya hummed in affirmation, “Well, is it crazy of me to think that he could see me as a backup?”

“ **What?!** ” she exclaimed, pulling Marinette’s arm away so she could stare her best friend in the face. “How could you even _think that_?? Adrien is totally head over heels for you. And you are obsessed with him!”

“I know, but… You were right, the other day. We did get really close really fast. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

Alya shook her head, expression softening, and sat down beside Marinette. “It’s hard not to fall fast for you, Marinette. Anyone that truly knows you knows how amazing you are. Adrien was drawn to you for who you are, once he got past the stuttering and blushing. You’re amazing, practically miraculous, Marinette, I told you one day Adrien would see how amazing you are.” she smiled down at Marinette.

Marinette sniffed, and launched up to wrap her arms around her best friend. “Only thing that’s miraculous here is you, girl, for sticking with me through all this craziness.”

Alya laughed, returning the hug before pulling Marinette down with her on the bed. “Someone has to, girl. Plus, who would listen to me ramble about Ladybug if not you?”

“Nino would.” Marinette deadpanned, earning a chuckle from Alya.

“He would, wouldn’t he. Poor guy, doesn’t fully realize what he’s getting into.”

Marinette giggled, “I’m sure he does, Alya. You did shove him into a locker when you thought Chloe was Ladybug.”

“Hey,” Alya exclaimed, looking offended, “I’ll have you know that I was determined to find out who Ladybug is. His safety came second.”

“But speaking of Nino!” Marinette said, launching up, “What are you gonna wear, Alya? What are your choices?”

“Ugh, nothing’s good enough!” the brunette whined, curling up in bed, “That’s why you’re here. Then you can show me the amazing dress you’re wearing tonight.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Still haven’t figured out how to get to the second entrance to the Lanayru Mining Facility?” Nino chuckled, watching Adrien steer Link around the Gerudo desert.

“I will persevere,” Adrien muttered, staring at the map intently. “It has to be at the center, there, where that big circle is.” he squinted at the map again. “What about that building to the west of the center? Is that important? Ooh sheikah stone!” he exclaimed, pushing Link to a sprint towards the stone to strike it.

Nino shook his head, and finally pointed to an area on the outer portion of the map. “Dude, go there first. It’ll make sense when you get there.”

Adrien huffed, and finally steered Link towards the building Nino pointed to.

“So…” Nino said after a minute, keeping his eyes on the screen, “Wanna talk about what happened with Marinette?”

Adrien stilled, pulling Link to a stop just in front of a glowing cave. “What about Mari?” he asked quietly.

“You know exactly what I mean, man.” Nino turned to face Adrien, pressing his hands into the couch just in front of his knees. “I’ve never seen you look so down, not even when your old man said no to a party. What happened, dude? She cancelled your date!”

The blonde clicked the home button, effectively pausing Skyward Sword. “She thought that she was a backup, a second best to Ladybug, and that we didn’t really know each other. So she’d backed out…”

“Woah…” Nino mumbled out, shocked. “How could she say that? You two have become super close lately, and you two had seemed so happy…”

Adrien huffed, and threw himself back into the cushions, rubbing his eyes. “Girls are so complicated, man. I thought I had made it pretty obvious how I felt, and thought she felt the same way… Until she just up and said ‘going out on a date isn’t a good idea’.”

“But you two worked everything out, right? She knows your thoughts and feelings, and you two are on the same page now?”

Adrien nodded, turning to face Nino again. “Well, she brought up restoring our original date plans, so I sure hope so. I don’t think I could handle being rejected again.”

“She won’t, man.” Nino said solemnly, reaching forward to clap Adrien’s shoulder. “She’s head over heels for you.”

Adrien smiled softly. “Thanks, Nino.” he glanced at the clock on the television, “We should be getting ready soon, we have to pick the girls up in forty minutes.”

Nino visibly paled. “What am I gonna wear?”

Adrien broke out laughing at his friend’s sudden panic, “You’re friends with one of the top designer’s in the world’s son. I’m sure we can find you _something_ to wear to the movies tonight, Nino.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! A lot of questions answered, sorry this chapter wasn't very fluffy! But I promise, the next [and final] chapter will be full of fluff!!
> 
> I had originally planned to have one more akuma attack in this fic, but eventually decided against it, since it would be mostly pointless and just prolong the inevitable. I had planned to create an akuma nearly exactly like revived _Demise_ from Skyward Sword, but Mari gave me the idea of simply playing SS to act as a gateway for Nino and Adrien to talk.
> 
> For those of you who have played _The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword_ , I am talking about the three little side missions you complete to charge up the "key" to opening the entrance to the Lanayru Mining Facility in the Gerudo Desert [one of my more disliked temples, but the entire temple was stunning as a whole]. I personally had a hell of a time trying to figure out what to do to charge up the key, and it totally took a lot of wandering to figure it out.
> 
> So this is the second last chapter in _**The Chat's Out of the... Shower?**_. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, but I promise a happy ending for Adrien and Marinette.


	18. Happy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children finally have their dates!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter was probably the hardest to write. How do you end something you have invested a ton of time and effort in, over the span of a month and a half?? [Well, I think this is how you do it... Although it might not be, and who knows, I could edit the ending at a later time.]
> 
> **I have to warn you guys, I have some sexual innuendos here.** That's the type of person I am, so I had to add a little something.
> 
> [Mari](http://mardimari.tumblr.com/) totally called it; "Tooth rotting children with some salt mixed it" [btw the salt is Alya]. These kids are gonna give me a tooth ache and a stomach ache, let's be real. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the final chapter to **CotS**!

# Happy Endings 

“Come on, Alya! Your hair looks fine, it’s all straight at the back, Nino’s gonna love it!” Marinette called out to Alya. “Now come on, the boys are going to be here soon!!” she exclaimed, frantically waving her hands about.

Alya was standing in front of the mirror in her room with the flat iron poised in her grasp. “Are you _sure_ it’s all straight at the back? This hair is un-tamed, it could be hiding something.”

Marinette groaned, and stalked back into the bedroom, yanking the pink flat iron from Alya. “Let me _quadruple_ check for you, Miss Priss.”

“Oh, and who was asking me not twenty minutes ago if all of their flyaways were pinned down? You have no place to judge me, Marinette.” Alya muttered, surrendering the flat iron.

Marinette checked the back layers of Alya’s hair for any stray curls, before she shut the flat iron off, and placed it in the hot cover on the dresser. She turned back to her best friend, who was turning back and forth in front of the mirror.

Marinette had decided that for Alya’s first date, she would wear a lime green long sleeve sweater, paired with black leggings and her ‘kickass ankle boots’, as Alya called them. Her sweater had a wide hood, with a scoop to gather the front of the hood to create a bit of a scarf. The edge of the sweater came halfway down her ‘assets’, meeting the black leggings with a bold line. The leggings were a matte black, and the black ankle boots gave her an extra inch of height, while hiding her bright red ‘lucky socks’. “You look fabulous, girl.” Marinette cooed, “Now, are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Alya hummed, and turned one last time in front of the mirror before stepping away. “Do you think Nino’ll like it?” she questioned.

“He’ll love it, Alya. I picked it, didn’t I? I know what I’m talking about here.” Marinette said with a wink, before stepping in front of the mirror herself.

The dress she designed had the exact effect she’d hoped it would on her body; it flowed with her as she moved, and the length was just right. The white lace on the neckline came just shy of the butterfly sleeves, giving the vibe of more than there really was. The various polka dots gave Marinette a boost of her alter-ego’s confidence, and she smiled at her reflection.

Marinette reached for her pink makeup bag, unzipped it, and peered at the contents, looking for her powder foundation. She pulled it, and her black foundation brush out from the depths, and placed the bag on the ground in front of her feet.

“Light, regular, or heavier makeup than usual?” Alya questioned, reaching for her own makeup collection.

“Hmm,” Marinette hummed, while dabbing her face, “I think regular, but maybe with some eyeliner. There’s no sense for you to do a whole lot it you guys are going to be sitting in a dark theatre most of the time.”

Alya nodded an affirmation, and started dabbing her liquid foundation across her cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin.

Once Marinette had evenly applied foundation over her face, she retrieved her black eyeliner pencil. She steadied her hand before making sharp wings on her eyelids in a quick motion of her hand, and checked to make sure the wings were even. She touched up the wings to end them in a feline point off the edge of her eyelids. _My date probably won’t even know the significance of this, but that’s okay._

Alya drew thick, deliberate lines on her lids to compliment her eye shape, before pulling out her trusty tube of mascara. She applied her usual amount of mascara, before tightening the lid back on, and sat back to admire her handiwork.

Marinette followed suit with her own tube of mascara, ironically named “ _Better Than Sex_ ”, and applied enough to make her eyes pop. She touched up her lashes to match as much as she could manage, before leaning back to admire the reflection. _Wow, this turned out better as a whole than I thought it would…_

Alya whistled to her right, “Wow, Marinette… Do you plan to knock Adrien’s socks off tonight? Or maybe something else…?” she asked sneakily.

“What?” Marinette shrieked, flushing at her friend’s words. “Alya! You can’t just say things like that!”

Alya broke out laughing, “I’m just kidding, girl! But your face went sooo red just now. Maybe you were plan--” a phone alert interrupted whatever Alya was planning to say.

Marinette reached behind her to grab the flashing phone sitting on the bed. It was a text from Adrien to her phone;

**We are just leaving my house now, my Lady. Are you girls ready?**

“Adrien just told me that they’re leaving his house now.” she relayed to Alya, typing out a response.

**Sounds good! We’re ready, can’t wait!**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Come on, Nino! You look fine, handsome, hot, whatever you need to hear to step away from that mirror!” Adrien exclaimed, throwing a black beanie blindly towards Nino. “Come on, your movie starts rolling previews soon, and my dinner reservations are in twenty minutes!”

“Alright, alright I’m coming!” Nino replied, fiddling with the beanie. “Are you sure this will work?” he asked, gesturing down at his outfit.

Adrien had pulled out a steel grey turtleneck sweater for Nino, and had paired it with a pair of dark-wash jeans from his father’s previous fall collection. Tied together with the beanie, Nino pulled off the look quite well compared to the bright colours he usually wore. The beanie, paired with his glasses gave him a hipster look, and with Nino’s usual pair of hightops, Adrien was sure Alya would swoon at the sight of her date.

“Alya’s gonna love it,” the blonde grinned, voicing his thoughts. “Stop fiddling with the beanie, it looks great, now come on!”

Nino grinned, and stepped up beside Adrien, ruffling his hair. “You’re right, man. I need to borrow clothes from you more often, especially if Alya’s gonna react the way I think she will.”

Adrien grimaced, and stalked back into the bathroom to smooth his hair back into place. “I’ll let you borrow clothes whenever, as long as you don’t mess up my hair!” he whined.

“Fine then, Mr. Model, keep your hair as it is.” Nino snickered, and walked ahead of Adrien out of his room.

Adrien had decided to wear a simple white button-up shirt with a black pair of slacks this evening. _Can’t outshine my Lady on our first date, now can I?_ He checked his sleeves to make sure they were rolled up equally, before leaving the bathroom.

Adrien grabbed his phone from it’s spot on his desk, and followed Nino out of his room. He started typing out a text to Marinette, but was interrupted by someone calling his name;

“Adrien?” his father questioned from his position at the bottom of the stairs.

Nino stiffened at the sight of the older Agreste.

“Father,” Adrien replied, slightly stunned. _He never comes to talk to me personally anymore. This must be important…_ “What’s wrong?”

“I saw Nathalie had altered your schedule for this evening, to have the entire evening free. Where are you two going?” Gabriel questioned, and fitted his hands behind his back.

“Nino and I both have dates this evening, father. We decided to get ready together, and we are about to go pick up our dates.” Adrien replied smoothly, stopping a few steps above his father.

“I see.” Gabriel’s gaze seemed to soften slightly, “Who is your date this evening, son?”

“Marinette Dupain Cheng.”

“The girl who won my fashion competition a few months ago, with the derby hat?” he questioned, with a slight tilt of his head.

Adrien nodded, stunned. _He remembers her? Mari will be pleased to hear that!_ “You remember her, father?”

“I do.” Gabriel nodded, “Her design was very unique and exhibited exquisitely. It would be very hard to forget such a design from someone your age. Did she design what she’s wearing tonight?”

“She did.”

“I see. I hope you consider taking a photo, for… Err, proof of her craftsmanship. I’m curious to see if you paired your outfit with hers this evening.” he said, trying to find the right words for wanting photos of his son’s first date.

“Of course, father.” Adrien exclaimed, grinning. “May we be excused? Dinner reservations are for 6:15, and we still need to pick up the girls…”

“Certainly!” Gabriel blurt out, and stepped back. “I was unaware that your reservations were so soon. Have fun this evening, boys.” he said softly, and walked out of the room.

“Wow,” Nino murmured, once Gabriel was out of sight, “I didn’t think your father cared that much.”

“Me neither…” Adrien mumbled, and turned his gaze back down to his phone. He typed out a text to Marinette, informing her that they were on their way.

The Gorilla had the car pulled out front, and he and Nino stepped in just as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Marinette had responded; **Sounds good! We’re ready, can’t wait!**

Adrien grinned at his phone screen, then shut it off, turning to face his best friend. “Girls are ready, they’re waiting for us. But they most likely just finished getting ready.”

Nino chuckled, “Marinette definitely just did. She’s always late, I’m actually surprised she’s on time for your date tonight.”

The blonde shook his head, smiling. “Something tells me she’s pretty excited. I don’t think Alya’d let her be late tonight.”

“Totally right there, man.” Nino mumbled, pulling at the end of his sleeves distractedly.

Adrien slapped Nino’s hands away from the turtleneck sleeves lightly, “Stop pulling at them! Just push them up, it’ll push the temptation to play with them away.”

The boy under scrutiny muttered incoherently, but did as he was told.

The silver car pulled up in front of Alya’s house, and Adrien twisted his hands together in his lap. _This is it._

Adrien and Nino stepped out of the car, and waited for the front door to open.

Alya stepped out first, laughing at something Marinette said. She flipped the straight brunette strands over her shoulder, and adjusted her hold on her bag, holding the door open for Marinette.

Adrien was convinced the world stopped as soon as Marinette stepped outside.

_I thought the dress looked good on the hanger, but it looks absolutely breathtaking on her._ The dress showed off the curves Adrien knew she had as Ladybug, and it hung just below her knees. The sheer red sleeves fluttered as she moved, and the white lace accentuated what he knew he shouldn’t admire. The skirt floated around her when she walked, and her red flats clicked on the concrete as she walked. _Her face looks like she covered it with the purest of stars._ Her bluebelle eyes were shining brighter than ever, and she stared up at Adrien--

_Holy crow, how’d she get here so quick?_

“Tongue-tied, mon minou?” Marinette whispered, smiling softly up at him.

“I--Uhm…” Adrien stuttered out ungracefully. “Wow, my Lady… You… You look so beautiful.” he whispered, somewhat breathlessly.

Marinette blushed, and brushed her bangs aside lightly. “Now now, kitty, no need for such flattery.”

“Always, for my princess.” he said, smirking a Chat-like grin. Adrien grasped her hand, bowed, and kissed her knuckles lightly. “As long as you’ll have me, anyways.”

“Aww, look at you two!” Alya cooed, and linked her elbow in Nino’s. “Why couldn’t you two get together earlier?”

“Because we were both stupid?” Adrien supplied, shrugging.

Marinette giggled, and Nino huffed.

“You’re right there, my man.” 

“Oh!” Alya suddenly exclaimed, “We need to get going; time’s getting away on us!” she pulled Nino towards the car.

Adrien twined his and Marinette’s fingers together, and pulled her to the other side of the car, letting her in first.

Marinette ended up squished between Adrien and Alya, and somehow the four of them fit in the backseat, but it was a short drive to _Le Domaine Saphire_.

“Oh, dude, tell Marinette what your dad said!” Nino said suddenly, looking around Alya towards Adrien.

“I almost forgot!” Adrien exclaimed, and turned to Marinette, smiling. “My dad remembers you, and called your work ‘very unique and exquisite’. I’m almost positive he likes you more than Nino, even if you … Haven’t met him in person.”

Marinette shrieked, and a huge grin broke out across her face. “Really?? Gabriel Agreste remembered _my_ design from _months ago_?? _Ohmygosh_!! Why didn’t you lead with that?” she accused, hitting Adrien’s arm.

“I’m sorry! I was a little distracted,” Adrien defended, blushing slightly.

“Just socks, huh?” Alya whispered to Marinette, causing the bluenette to flush, and tuck herself closer to Adrien’s side.

Nino and Adrien eyed the girls suspiciously, before shaking their heads and turning away.

Adrien turned his gaze out the window, and watched the buildings slowly turn more and more opulent the further they drove away from Alya’s house. _We should almost be at the restaurant…_

The Gorilla expertly pulled off the road, and parked the car. Marinette snapped her head up to peer out the window excitedly.

“Are we here?” Marinette questioned, the excitement clear in her voice.

“We are!” Adrien grinned, opening the door. He offered his hand to Marinette, and helped her out of the backseat.

Alya and Nino also filed out of the car, Alya brandishing her phone. “C’mon you guys, cuddle up! We need photos!”

Marinette turned, and tucked herself back to Adrien’s side, while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders gently. Adrien smiled his best modelling smile while Alya took multiple photos.

Marinette tilted her head up, smiling softly at Adrien. He returned the smile, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. He heard the camera shutter click a few more times, before Alya squealed and ran to Marinette’s side, showing her the photos she just took.

“Alya, we have to go!” Nino chuckled, walking to Adrien’s side. “We need to let them get in the building, y’know.” he nudged Adrien’s elbow lightly with his own. “Have fun tonight, man. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks, Nino.” the blonde grinned, and winked. “Don’t get too handsy in the theatre!” he called after him.

Nino flipped him the bird before hopping in the car after Alya, and disappearing into Parisian traffic.

“Ready to head in?” Adrien asked, peering down at Marinette.

She nodded, and turned to gaze at _Le Domaine Saphire_ in all its’ glory.

The building was a single story, small for such a prestigious restaurant, but looked every bit the part. The entire building was old brick, probably the original from when the building was primarily a house. There was gleaming black wrought iron surrounding the building, protecting the square hedges that ran almost the length of the front. The blue glass revolving door was constantly in motion, from people pushing in and out of the restaurant. It cast a kaleidoscope of blues on the concrete in front of the establishment, giving off a pleasant vibe. The overhang above the door was a sapphire blue, displaying the elegant silver cursive name. The roof was encased in the same wrought iron as the front, with various tables set up for pleasant evening dining. The inside was decorated in a variety of blue and silver tones, embodying _“Le Domaine Saphire”_ to the letter.

Adrien motioned for Marinette to go first, and followed her inside with a small smile on his face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Tonight was amazing, Adrien.” Marinette murmured as soon as they exited the restaurant.

“I’m glad you changed your mind, Princess.” Adrien replied, pulling Marinette to a stop underneath the overhang. “Or else I’d have been sulking in my room all evening, wondering why my dear sweet Lady would abandon me!” he moaned, swooning into her dramatically.

Marinette laughed at his theatrics, and shoved him away playfully. “You silly cat! It’s a good thing I changed my mind, or else you would have come to my door yowling like the tom cat you are!”

Adrien smirked, and threw his arm around her. “If that’s what you wanted, you should have just asked.”

Marinette scoffed, and didn’t respond. Instead, she looked to the sky; there were heavy clouds overhead, and she could hear the _pitter-patter_ of rain somewhere close by.

Adrien cringed slightly, also hearing the approaching rain. “Should I call the Gorilla, have him drive us to your house?”

“No need!” Marinette said, reaching into her bag. “I brought us an umbrella; Alya warned me earlier that it was likely to rain.”

She pulled out a simple black umbrella, and opened it to the elements.

Adrien did a double take. _Is that…?_ “Isn’t that the umbrella that I gave you after the whole Chloe incident?” he blurt out.

Marinette nodded, and brushed her bangs aside, embarrassed. “Yeah, it uh… It’s yours. I’ve never really found the opportunity to give it back to you.”

Adrien broke out laughing, shaking his head at his date. “It’s fine, Marinette. I gave you the umbrella, I didn’t expect you to keep it all this time, though!” he sobered slightly, before saying “I thought you hated me for the longest time, and thought you would’ve gotten rid of it the first chance you got.”

“Now why would I do that?” she asked, feigning ignorance. “This is a perfectly good umbrella, no matter what scoundrel it came from.”

“Scoundrel?” Adrien shrieked, a little louder than was appropriate this time of night. “You wound me!”

Marinette giggled, and linked her elbow with his, pulling him out onto the sidewalk to make the trek towards her house. “You’re so dramatic, why are you a model and not an actor?”

Adrien shook his head, gently pulled the umbrella from her grasp, and twined their fingers together. “Because my father’s a designer, not a director. I have to say, I’d rather pose than act in front of a camera.”

“What makes you say that?” Marinette gently prodded.

“Hmm,” Adrien pondered her question for a few moments, “I don’t think I’d be able to portray enough emotion with my voice like I can with posing. But it’s just what I’m used to, I guess.”

“I dunno,” Marinette tutted, “you were pretty persuasive with me the other day.”

“I was, huh? All with my voice, not just my pretty face?”

“I never said your face was pretty.” Marinette scoffed, blushing slightly.

“Well, let’s test that theory, then…” Adrien murmured, mysteriously.

Marinette snapped her head up to stare at him. They simultaneously slowed to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, encased in their own world under the ordinary umbrella. The soft pitter-patter of rain on the umbrella’s surface further drowned out the world around them, leaving just their soft breaths to fill the quiet. Adrien turned to fully face Marinette, and let his free hand come up and cup her cheek. He rubbed his thumb softly over the freckles splattering under her eyes. _It’s like I have my own heaven right here, splattered in the constellations on her cheeks._

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered, ducking his head slightly.

Marinette’s eyes widened marginally, and her mouth opened in an adorable little ‘o’ shape, before she nodded slightly.

They met halfway in a chaste brush of lips, lasting only a few moments before pulling away, with flushed faces.

Marinette was the first to break the silence with a soft giggle. Adrien joined in moments after, a smile breaking out across his face.

She wrapped both arms around his neck, and stretched up on her toes to meet his lips again, more firmly than the first time. He returned her affections with the same amount of passion, his free hand moving from her cheek to wrap firmly around her waist.

They broke apart with a small sigh, foreheads still touching.

“Maybe I could be a good actor,” Adrien murmured, smirking slightly.

Marinette stared at him, confusion written all over her face. “What?”

“It wasn’t just my pretty face,” Adrien stated, tilting his chin up slightly. “I was pretty persuasive.”

She rolled her eyes, scoffing at him. “Fine, you were. But I like you for more than just your pretty face, you know.”

“Is that so?” he asked, sobering. “If that’s the case, then would you consider being my girlfriend, Mari?”

Marinette grinned, and gave him a quick peck, before murmuring “ _Yes_ ”.

Adrien’s face broke out in a grin, and he placed a lingering kiss to her forehead. He then linked their fingers together, pulled away slightly and started back down the street.

“I wonder how Lila’s gonna react when she finds out we’re dating? Officially?” Marinette thought aloud, and peered down at their intertwined hands.

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks, Mari. The only thing that matters is that we’re happy.”

She nodded slightly, and glanced back up at him. “I’m happy. Are you?”

“Of course. Ladybug and Chat Noir were always meant to be together. You make me so happy, Mari, and nothing you do will ever change that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe this is finally over... I hope you guys enjoyed this journey as much as I have. It's gonna be weird putting this down, but this story went farther than I ever thought it was going to! Thank you all so so much.
> 
>  
> 
> _I promised you guys a happy ending, didn't I?_
> 
>  
> 
> On a side note, some of you have asked about doing fan art, and frankly, **I am SO down for that!**  
>  All I ask, is to credit me [[@winter-and-little-brunettes,](http://winter-and-little-brunettes.tumblr.com/)], and to say where it's from ["The Chat's Out of the... Shower?" or "CotS" works]

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking with me, guys! It's crazy that I finally finished my longest ML fic to date [35k words, holy shit]! If you've made it this far, it means you liked it, and I'm honestly so glad!
> 
> If you're interested in following me on tumblr, [I am winter-and-little-brunettes](http://winter-and-little-brunettes.tumblr.com/), so feel free to follow me! I always love hearing back from my readers, so feel free to message me there, or leave comments here!
> 
> On the topic of fanart or any sort of mentions, just credit [me](http://winter-and-little-brunettes.tumblr.com/), and mention my fic [CotS](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7275931)!
> 
> I plan to write more Miraculous Ladybug works in the future, so feel free to subscribe to me!


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